My Hero The Delinquent
by Batty Angel
Summary: When Gaara is saved by a Delinquent, Rock Lee, he becomes curious about this strange boy. Can Gaara convince Lee to return to school? Will friendship blossom or something more? A high school AU fic. Warning: Yaoi, LeeGaa
1. Chapter 1

I did it! I finally started a Gaara and Lee fanfic! XD

This isn't the one I had originally planned, in fact this idea originated from a conversation on LiveJournal about the highschool ending of shippuden wahahaha... sorry.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this fic and I hope to have fun writing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything Naruto related. In fact I had to abduct the characters from Japan, forced them to learn English and make them take part in this fanfic. Ahhh... the life of writer 8D

Chapter 1

--

Gaara didn't want much from life.

Despite growing up in an angst-worthy childhood, the red head lead a content life.

He had a few good friends, did well in school and got along with his older brother and sister. Even though it was only a year ago, Gaara was known to be the most socially withdrawn and isolated student in a of Konoha high. However it was thanks to a certain hyperactive blond haired boy named Naruto as Gaara began to open up, more and more before eventually realizing that he had started to enjoy going to school.

He was considered to be one of the school's brightest students along side Shikamaru and Neji, as well as being an active member of the school's art club. In short, life was good... right up until this moment.

Gaara was currently surrounded by thugs, all ready to beat the living day lights out of him.

'Great, and I thought Jiraiya covering for literature was the highlight of my day.'

Although Gaara's inner self was starting to panic, his stoic face stayed in place. Avoiding eye contact, Gaara attempted to walk away from the group but was roughly pushed up against the wall.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Gaara's glasses began to slip down his nose as he hugged his school books closer to his chest. Teal eyes managed to send out Gaara's very best death glare, which unfortunately did nothing as one of the men stepped closer with a toothy grin.

"What's that look for?"

"..."

"Staying silent, eh? Well since you're not too busy, how about giving me and my friends a little something so we can get out of you're hair?"

Gaara's nose wrinkled in disgust from the bad breath, thinking about what Naruto would say in a situation such as this.

"...bite me..."

Before the thug could even respond, Gaara stomped on his foot and tried to escape for the second time. However, he was once again pulled back and forcefully slammed against the wall with both his arms captured in a hold by the other two men. The guy who had just been foot-stomped had a look of pure anger displayed on his face.

"Now you've asked for it!"

Gaara squeezed his eyes shut, ready for the punch in the face... that never came. He felt the grip on his arms loosen as the rest of the gang gawped at the now unconscious man on the floor. Gaara opened an eye to see what was happening.

"...No! It can't be..."

Gaara sensed fear setting in the men besides him, responding to the sight of the tall stranger. This boy seem to be around Gaara's age with thick eyebrows and large angry eyes. His hair was rugged, spiky and long, mostly tied back into a long braid. He had tanned skin and wore a long dark green trench coat, with a plain t-shirt and jeans.

Gaara couldn't move his eyes away from this sight, he thought this boy looked odd yet... handsome. But his gaze became truly stuck when their eyes met. Dark eyes soften at those teal eyes, the pair becoming lost in a world of their own in a split second.

However that world was quickly shattered when one of the men pulled Gaara's arm roughly, causing the eye contact to be broken.

"Yeah right, no way that could be the Green beast of Konoha-"

Before his sentence could even be finished, the thug was suddenly punched in the face by a tanned hand. Gaara was freed from the tight grasp and stood to the side, eyes wide open to witness the fight.

It all happened so fast. The first man tried to fight back but was kicked down with a great amount of force, sending him tumbling down upon the concrete floor. When the other two tried to take the dark haired boy down, the 'Green Beast of Konoha' fought the pair almost simultaneously.

'It's as if I'm watching the spawn of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee in action' Gaara thought to himself in awe, which was short lived as he then questioned himself why such a thought crossed his mind to begin with.

The fight was short lived as the men soon ran away in fear of further beatings. Gaara stared at the boy who was still standing, spitting out some blood and wiping the side of his face. Gaara was lost in a daze as the boy finally noticed the red head.

"Are you okay?"

Gaara snapped out of his little daydream, realizing that the boy who had just saved him was now up close and standing right in front of him. Gaara didn't answer straight away as he observed how his 'hero' was taller than him, the red-pink marks standing out on the tanned skin and destined to become bruises. Then those teal eyes traveled back up to those dark eyes, bringing Gaara back to reality.

"Uh... yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I could have stopped them..." Gaara did not mean to respond in such a harsh tone, but he couldn't help but feel a bit lost. He didn't know what he should do or say in a situation like this.

'After all, no one has ever saved me like this before...' Gaara felt his cheeks warm up, whilst the other boy chuckled.

"Really? Well you were certainly doing a fine job."

Gaara wanted to glare so badly at this stranger, but when he tried to look straight into those dark eyes something inside him faltered. The red head dropped his gaze to the floor, clutching the books closer to his chest as if to give himself a boost of confidence.

'Why do I feel so nervous? I don't know this guy. I've never seen him before, yet... my insides feels weird. What is happening?'

Gaara took a deep breath, pushing all thoughts aside, before speaking directly to his hero.

"T-thank you..." Gaara could not believe he was stuttering, he knew that if his siblings were watching they would indeed be laughing at him and possibly filming the situation - ready to display on to the internet.

"...for..."

"Heh, no problem."

Gaara looked up to see such a kind look on this boy's face. The 'Green beast of Konoha' had a warm smile upon his face, Gaara's blush darkened at the sight. It was all over too soon for Gaara when the boy turned around to walk away.

"See you later."

"WAIT!"

Gaara did not know why he suddenly yelled out nor why his right hand reached out to the now wide-eyed boy, whom was looking at Gaara over his shoulder. The blushing boy instantly withdrew his outstretched hand to push his glasses up, attempting to regain his calm posture.

"What is your name?"

The boy had looked surprised at this question, as Gaara tried so hard to fight the urge to look away in embarrassment.

There was no response. Just silence and that smile which had left Gaara's heart beating wildly, when the taller boy continued to walk away.

'What on earth...' Gaara placed a hand on his chest to feel the soft thumping under his clothes and skin '...is this feeling?'


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"The Green Beast? You must be talking about Rock Lee..."

Gaara snapped his eyes in the direction of the long haired brunette known as Neji. The green eyed boy had been telling his group of friend about the incident in the alley way, involving the dark haired stranger.

It was lunch time. Naruto was next to Gaara, inhaling his second bowl of ramen, and on the other side was Neji slowly eating a sandwich. Across from the red head was Kiba, Shino and at the very end was Shikamaru who was taking yet another nap whilst Choji next him munched on a bag of chips.

Normally Gaara would keep quiet and eat his own lunch in piece, as the others chatted away, but when Naruto noticed the slight bruise on the pale wrist Gaara was nagged into telling the events of yesterday.

"He helped you? Really?" Kiba had some fries sticking out of his mouth, looking surprised. Shino frowned in disgust.

"Must you eat like that?"

Kiba just replied with a wide grin, the fries falling out back onto the plate. Shino sighed and went back to eating his own lunch.

'Rock Lee... Lee...' Gaara lightly blushed when thinking of the name. He didn't know why but the image of that smiling face popped back into his mind.

'...Lee...' The red head sat there with a dreamy expression, earning a raised eye brow from a certain blond.

"Gaara? Gaaaara? Is anybody in there?" Naruto called out, bringing Gaara out of his momentary daze.

"Huh?"

"Oh he must be one sexy beast to get you carried away in la la land."

Gaara glared at Naruto before placing his usual stoic mask on his face, taking a sip from his carton of juice.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh don't act so innocent with me..."

A devilish grin took place on the tanned face, wriggling his eye brows in a suggestive manner.

"You're thinking _Oh Who is this tall, handsome and dark stranger, and why does he look so sexy?_"

"I'm sure that's what **you're** thinking of 24/7... about a certain Uchiha."

Kiba grinned knowing that he was successfully tormenting the blue eyed boy. Naruto glowered before sticking out his tongue.

"Screw you dog-breath, Sasuke is a total bastard. Why would anyone like him."

"I don't know Naruto." Neji smirked, sounding amused. "Why would you like him?"

"I don't! Besides, this conversation isn't about that over-popular prick of the year..."

Naruto's face blushed as he pointed wildly at Gaara.

"It's about Gaara's new crush!"

"It's not a crush!"

Gaara surprised himself with his own sudden out burst, causing everyone in a mile radius of the green eyed boy to stare at him. Gaara looked down with great interest at his own lunch, avoiding everyone's gaze, blushing redder by the minute.

There was silence until Choji started to hum 'Kiss the girl' whilst munching his lunch. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, peaking over his folded arms at his friend.

"Choji?"

"Sorry. It was the last song I heard leaving the house."

"Riiiight." Naruto nodded slowly before returning his attention back on to his red headed friend.

"So Gaara-"

"Shut up." Gaara was beginning to regret ever opening his mouth. He cupped his hand so that he could bury his face and ignore the nearby blond.

"You're wasting your time Gaara." Neji spoke up, which made Gaara raise his head from his hands to show he was listening.

"He's a failure in all his subjects and hardly ever turns up for school. Heh, I don't even know why he hasn't been expelled yet..."

Gaara felt something burn inside himself as Neji's words hit him, making the pale boy feel aggravated.

"...People like him are destined for failure anyway..."

That was the final straw. Gaara stood up with his bag in his hand and stormed off without a word, ignoring his friends calling after him.

Everyone at the table paused in slight confusion to Gaara's reaction. Neji's forehead creased in annoyance of Gaara's reaction as Naruto nudged the brunette in the elbow.

"Jeez Neji, talk about how to lose a guy in 10 seconds - starring jerkface Hyuga."

"Hey, Hey Neji!" Kiba waved with a cheesey grin on his face. "If you wanted chat up lines , all you had to do was ask."

"Oh! I know a good one!"

Naruto jumped up, one foot stepping on his own chair to contribute to the dramatic pose.

"I give you this rose. Hopefully you, unlike this rose, will not be cut down in your prime and your corpse displayed as a sign of affection!" (1)

Kiba wrinkled his nose. "Dude, that's creepy."

"I thought it was cool..."

"You're all imbeciles." with that, Neji stood up and left to go to his next lesson.

"Oh noes! Kiba, everyone is leaving!"

"Don't worry Naruto, we'll stand our ground!"

"Yeah!" Naruto punched the air with a look of determination.

"No one shall make us move. Not now, not evvver!" (2)

"Idiots" Shino mumbled as he got up to leave. Choji looked over to Shikamaru, who had returned back to his napping.

"Hey Shikamaru, should we leave now?"

"Mm... five more minutes..."

--

Once school was finished Gaara took his time walking home, getting lost in his thoughts. He was trying to figure out why he acted the way he did at lunch, and why did Neji's words made him upset.

"And further more... why do I keep thinking about him?"

Gaara had never thought about a person in this much depth before.

'_I only met him yesterday. There's a possibility that I won't ever see him again since he doesn't even turn up for school. I haven't known him for long and I don't just throw my trust at anyone... especially after...'_

Gaara stopped moving and his train of thought. He came to realize that he was standing nearby the place he met that boy. Taking small steps, he made his way over to the front of the alley way and stood still. Staring down at this empty space, Gaara recalled the events of yesterday. That face. The dark hair. That skin. Those eyes...

As his glasses slipped down his nose, Gaara leant against the wall, feeling depressed and had a strange craving to see this boy again.

'_But I'm not going to see him again. And he won't want to see me again...'_

"Hey, what are you doing there?"

Gaara spun around and his eyes widen when he saw Lee standing right next to him, as clear as his memory - the same clothes, the same height... and the same pair of eyes. Gaara's face began to heat up as he felt his words tangle in his mouth.

"I- I was... well here and I-I... I was..."

'What the hell am I doing?' Gaara's thoughts screamed at this strange feeling that entangled with his heart and the flow of his breathing. _'I don't stutter, I don't act like an idiot I...'_

"Are you okay?"

Gaara looked up at Lee before looking away again, feeling embarrassed about his current behavior. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Gaara spoke.

"Hi..."

"...Hi..."

--

(1) it's a line I saw on Deviant art here: icyookami./art/Gaara-s-Gift-39696458

(2) My friends and I did this at school once. We took a lunch table and claimed it in the name of banana's. We had a flag, an anthem and everything XD It was a country and I was a peasant :D

I'm leaving it there because I want to finish this chapter! XDDD

I hate this chapter. I only like it AFTER the lunch scene... graaaah! It's crap crap crap and was written during my revision and in between exams :P

Anyways now that exams are done and over with for now, I have time write - YAYZ!

Reviews feeds my soul :D


	3. Chapter 3

ARGH! I haven't updated in FOREVER! I'm sooo sorry... I have no excuse '

I did like how the end of this chapter turned out :D... I hope you all enjoy it! XD

--

Chapter 3

"So..." Lee was the first to break the silence, running his fingers through the black strands of hair.

Gaara noticed that both hands were bandaged, causing him to feel the unexpected pang of worry in his chest.

'_What Am I getting worried about? It's none of my business...'_

"...Why are you standing in this ally way? I would have thought that what happened yesterday would have discouraged you from returning..."

"I wanted-"

Gaara stopped himself before he could say the rest of his sentence.

'I wanted to see you again? What's wrong with me?!'

"I heard that you go to Konoha high, yet I have never seen you there..."

Gaara didn't really care about why Lee is never seen at school, although a small part of himself was curious, he did not want to finish his initial sentence.

However, the friendly face turned cold and blank. Lee looked lost in his own thoughts.

"I just don't like... I just don't like going there, okay."

Gaara didn't know what to say to that response. The way Lee was looking made Gaara regret asking that question, although a newer one was bugging the spectacled red head.

Why would he dislike school?

Gaara almost couldn't imagine hating school. To him, school was a sanctuary. He had friends there who he had grown so attached to, even though there were a few assholes at his school - they never bothered Gaara so Gaara never bothered with them. He didn't really hate any of the teachers, even if they were weird, creepy and utterly perverted - most of them did provide a good education... or at least some good entertainment.

'_Although, there was a time I detested school... but that was because I hated people... I wonder why he'd...'_

"I have a great idea!"

Lees sudden loud outburst of sunshine completely threw Gaara out of his thoughts, as he felt the bandaged hand grabbed on to his own. Gaara's glasses began to slip down his nose, as Gaara looked up and stared at the blinding grinning smile.

"Lets go on a date!"

"Whu... wha...wa..."

Gaara couldn't get the words out, even though the inside of his head was practically screaming bloody murder, demanding to know why Lee found it appropriate to drag him away AND have to nerve to take him on a date!

'How dare he touch me! How dare he grab hold of my hand and tell me - not ask me - tell me that we're going on a date! And further more... WHY THE HELL AM I NOT SAYING ALL THIS TO HIS FACE!?'

Gaara knew full well why. He knew that despite what the logical part of his brain is telling him, his body was giving that part of his brain the middle finger and allowed his hand to grip Lee's own. The red head's voice became mute, unable to speak a coherent sentence at that moment whilst a blush blessed his face. It didn't help either that there was a small part of Gaara's mind saying 'I kind of like this.'

So in the end Gaara just followed the dark haired boy, still holding his hand and blushing redder than his own hair colour.

'_For the love of God - please don't let anyone from school catch me like this!'_

When Gaara had the courage to look up towards Lee face, he could see a smile. A really beautiful smile.

"Wow..."

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"Uh - nothing! I just wanted to know where we were going?"

"Ah - ha! It's a surprise!"

With a wink included, Gaara's face went back to it's normal blank state.

'_What is wrong with me - this isn't who I am! I'm not some sort of soft headed idiot who blushes and talks like some prissy girl in love!' _

At that thought, Gaara almost stopped breathing. Love? After a few seconds Gaara smirked at the notion.

'_Now that's just ridiculous... I might be acting like I have a crush on this guy, but I of all people know that I can't be in love...'_

Because Gaara knew that he wouldn't be so stupid as to fall in love, especially after...

"We're here!" Lee's voice sung out as Gaara stared stoically at the building in front of him.

"A cinema?"

"Yes! Anything you'd like to see for our date?"

"I... don't care."

Gaara was still in shock of the fact that he was still playing along with this 'date,' he just wasn't in the right state of mind to decide what movie to watch.

"Okay, I just know the perfected movie to watch!"

However, instead of going inside the front entrance to buy tickets, the green clothed boy pulled Gaara along towards the side of the building.

"Uh... The entrance is back there Lee."

"Oh. I know that."

"Then why...?"

"I know another way in."

The words were spoken so sweetly that Gaara nearly missed the actual situation he was allowing himself into. After about two steps, green eyes widened with realization.

"Wait - we're sneaking in!?"

Lee stopped and tilted his head to the side, looking blankly back at Gaara.

"Yes. That's the general idea..."

"But... we can't do that!"

Lee Smiled with the twinkle of confidence in his eyes, as his hand reached over to Gaara's - their fingers interlaced without a thought. Lee leaned in towards Gaara's face, the red head backing away slightly.

"Anything is possible..."

The words were spoken in a whisper, sounding seductive to Gaara's sensitive ears making Gaara feel dizzy from the sudden rush of excitement inside his heart. The eyes stared into each other, lost yet again... only for their spell to be broken when their noses bumped slightly into each other.

For a brief moment, Gaara thought that they were going to kiss...

However, Lee then pulled away with a bright smile and the tone of his voice returning to cheerful once again.

"...besides, a bit of an adventure is good for you!"

Gaara tried to ignore the disappointment in his mind and continued to follow Lee. Why, he did not know.

'What if we were caught? What would my father say?... heh. He would say same thing he tells me everyday.'

And with that thought, Gaara kept his hold on Lee's hand as they quietly slipped in through the broken-lock door on the side of the cinema, stepping into darkness.

A sudden fear of being caught made Gaara's heart beat so fast, the pale skinned boy thought he was going to faint - not that **manly** Gaara would faint. Oh no, never.

They snuck into an empty row of seats un noticed by the other members of the audience, whom were too indulged with the trailer.

"I can't believe I'm doing this..."

Gaara mumbled as Lee gave out a low chuckle. Gaara tried to scowl, unknowingly pouting, as he pushed up his glasses.

"Whats so funny?"

"You're so cute when you look annoyed."

"I - I am not cute thank you very much!"

"Shhh... you don't want to get caught, do you?"

Gaara felt his face warm up for what felt like the hundredth time today, feeling the soft breath hit his ears. Gaara mumbled no, feeling the rough bandaged hands squeezed Gaara's pale hand gently.

Once the trailers were over, the movie began with a shot of the sea at night.

'_...Pirates of the Carribean? The little Mermaid? What is it?... I hope it's a horror. If this is a crappy chick flick - heads will roll...'_

Suddenly a woman's voice began to sing and after a few minutes into the movie, he started to recognize the tunes from his sister's music collection... thus causing the red head's jaw to drop.

Yes, Lee - THE Rock Lee, the delinquent of Konoha high... had taken Gaara to see 'Mama Mia'

'_He has taken me to see a musical... an ABBA musical... the boy will pay for this demonic work.'_

But just as Gaara was planning to punch Lee in the jaw, green eyes caught the look on Lee's face.

The dark haired boy was smiling, looking as if he was enjoying the film so far - probably because he had already seen the film before. Yet the way Lee looked... Gaara couldn't put it into words. The boy beside him seem to glow with enjoyment, humming quietly along with the songs and gave out a beautiful laugh when something funny happened on the screen. Gaara gave an attempt to watch most of the film... but he had much preferred to watch Lee. Once halfway through, Lee caught Gaara gazing and smiled so kindly that Gaara felt his heart turn into fluttering butterflies. It got better when Lee leaned over to kiss Gaara on the cheek, before those dark shining eyes returned towards the screen - those lips still smiling warmly.

Gaara felt so lost. It didn't help that songs were playing as soundtrack to his emotions. He didn't know what to do... he turned his head and leaned in, trusting himself and relying on instinct.

He had missed Lee's lips, just about pecking the corner of his mouth and pulling away quickly in embarrassment, feeling like a fool. But when he turned to look at Lee again, he saw those eyes stare back at him. After that Gaara just let go of himself, this time they both aimed for the lips. That moment was so sweet, so beautiful, so pure... Gaara never knew there could be any feeling like this.

And he never wanted that feeling to end.

--

Please review to feed my soul :D


	4. Chapter 4

Another Chapter, which I dedicate to Ednama - who gave me many ideas for Lee (insert mega glompage here)

Anyhoo, thank you all who read and review my story! It is very much appreciated!

Now... continuation! XD

Chapter 4

The pair left the theater unnoticed, Gaara looking ruffled with messy-er-than-usual hair and his shirt half-tucked in - whilst Lee seem to glow even more than usual.

Gaara felt so confused with these conflicting emotions. One part of him was fuming with rage at himself and Lee, whereas the other half was practically craving for more of the green beast of Konoha.

'_Why me? Why can't I just have a simple and boring life? Although...'_

Gaara looked up at Lee, who still had the same handsome smile upon his face.

'_I wonder...'_

"Lee?"

"Yes?"

"I..."

Gaara had so much to ask this dark haired wonder, even though he was half inclined to start yelling his head off and throwing a bloody tantrum for no reason whatsoever.

But mostly, Gaara wanted to know the reason why Lee didn't attend school or whether or not Lee was just messing around with Gaara's mind or...

"Do you... like me?"

Gaara inwardly cringed at his own tone of voice. He had intended to sound passive and uncaring, only to have spoken softer with more emotion - feeling the blush grace his face once more.

'_Well done Gaara, remind yourself to go get a sex change once this day is over, because as of now, you are officially a prissy little girl... God, if Naruto was here he would be having a field day!'_

"Yes. Yes I do."

Gaara almost jumped in surprise as Lee's voice cut into his thoughts.

"But... why?"

Lee looked at Gaara for what had felt like forever, before lifting up a bandaged hand to ruffle the already messy red hair.

"I just do."

Lee replied, smirking. Gaara glowered, but not making a single attempt to stop Lee's action as he mumbled quietly.

"I'm not some dog you know."

Lee chuckled, whilst Gaara became mesmerized by the sound of the dark haired boy.

When the hand pulled away from the top of Gaara's head, the shorter boy managed to capture the hand - staring at those tanned fingers and rough bandages.

Thoughts of 'how' and 'why' run through the red head's mind, but he does not voice these questions. Instead those pale hands cradle lee's own, gently rubbing one of Lee's finger's with his thumb. It was yet another moment that the two did not need a reason nor words for this small action. Even though Gaara focused entirely on the hand before him, he could sense those questioning dark eyes staring at him.

"Gaara?"

All thoughts were pushed aside when the green eyed boy realized that it was getting darker out side.

'_Oh crap, what time is it?'_

"It's getting late..."

Gaara tried to make himself believe that he now had the perfect excuse to get away from Lee, yet he knew that he really didn't want to leave.

"Oh. Well..."

Lee looked away briefly, making Gaara feel like he just punched a kitten, only for those dark eyes to suddenly brighten up with his trademark smile as an idea hit him.

"How about I drive you home!"

'_Hrm. Walk alone with a high chance of getting jumped again, or spend some more time - alone - with someone who you MIGHT have a crush with... oh what would Naruto do?'_

The voice of Naruto sang out _'Dooooo it. Doooo it!' _in Gaara's head. So without a further thought, Gaara nodded as Lee lead them towards the vehicle.

It was a smooth black convertible, with red leather seat covers and a silver streak down the side.

'_My gods that's sexy...' _Gaara blinked before shaking his head_._

'_Note to self, must kill inner voice.'_

"Gaara? Are you okay?"

Gaara snapped out of his thoughts and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Lee opened the door for Gaara, which made the red head want to yell at the tanned skin boy for treating him like a girl... if it wasn't for that warm smile.

'_Dammit.'_

Gaara murmured his thanks as his seated himself, which only made the taller boy appear so joyful. Lee hopped over the door and landed into the drivers seat.

"Well lets get started then, shall we?"

Now Gaara would have thought that any other person would have pulled out their car keys, start up the car and maybe turn of the radio for a jolly tune. However, in this scenario Lee had ducked down in his seat and started to fiddle around with something under the dashboard.

"Lee?"

'What on earth is he... oh no.'

Gaara started to hyperventilate when he could see that Lee was trying to start the engine, green eyes catching the wires in Lees hands sparking slightly.

"Lee what are you-"

Before the sentence had even began, Gaara's voice was cut off by the sound of the engine starting.

"Don't forget your seat belts!"

Lee's tone was too cheery for Gaara's liking, but just as he was about to respond the car then zoomed forward. It took the red head a few moments to peel his fingers from the dashboard to reach over his shoulder to snap on the seatbelt.

Lee was speeding off into a general direction, humming too himself whilst Gaara's life passed before his eyes.

'_Crap. Crap. Crap...Yashamaru... Ass-holio Father. Emoness. Some sand. Crap. Naruto fighting him for the last ham burger. Crap. Friendship. Life got better. Meeting Lee... crap. Gonna die a virgin. Don't care, just wanna live to see another school day. Crap. Need to return that library book...'_

"So where do you live?"

"Are we still in Konoha!?"

"Of course we are silly!"

Gaara tried to steady his voice because he, Gaara Sabaku, never got scared. Oh no, not even when the driver is a happy psycho who likes Abba and musicals. No sir. Not he. As Gaara calmed himself down, he told the thick eye-browed one where he lived. When Gaara managed to take a few more deep breaths, he asked the question that was bothering him despite the current situation.

"Lee... did you lose your car keys or something?"

"Nope. I didn't have any to begin with."

Lee answered with the same happy smile as Gaara paled slightly.

"You mean you stole..."

Sirens wailed behind them.

"Whoops, I guess it's time for a little detour..."

As the car began to swerve to speed down the once peaceful and quiet street, Gaara tried to tell himself that he had actually been in worse situations than this. He has been in actual life and deaths situations that was ten times worse than this one. But when Lee picked up the speed, Gaara decided that his stoic mask and logical thinking can go happily out of the mental window as one thought over took his mind.

'_OH MERCIFUL LUCY - I WANNA LIVE!' _

--

One hour.

It had taken Lee and Gaara one hour to get to the red head's house. It took ten minutes to lose the police and another fifteen minutes for an old lady to cross the road. The rest was driving time at the speed of light.

Gaara had an iron grip on the dash board and had almost forgotten to breath, if is wasn't for the light shake on his shoulder courtesy of Lee.

"Gaara? Hey Gaara... you okay?"

Gaara slowly turned his head, face completely blank and staring at Lee in shock. The tanned skinned boy laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Heh. Maybe I should have slowed down a bit..."

"Maybe?"

Gaara's dead panned voice went unnoticed by Lee, who laughed slightly until Gaara's hands were placed at both sides of Lee's face. For a moment, Lee had thought that Gaara would kiss him... if it wasn't for the sudden head butt.

"Ouch!"

"Maybe?!"

Gaara's voice raised, as anger finally woken up inside him. A corner of the red head's mind shouted out a 'Finally!' before the rant begun.

"Are you crazy!? Not only do you speed up enough to break the sound barrier - not only were you being chased by cops and didn't stop, BUT you stole a car! What the hell is wrong with you? What if we had an accident? What if someone got hurt or what if the police caught up with us? Do you want the both of us to go to prison?-"

Lee had cut him off with a kiss, making Gaara feel more pissed off... for a few seconds. Eventually gaara melted in with the kiss, feelings of anger dissolving like chocolate. When they pulled away for air, Gaara found his fingers entwined in the black strands of hair and Lee's hands roaming down his neck and back. Gaara tried to get angry again but failed miserably, sighing silently as he leant his head on Lee's shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

Gaara didn't expect to hear an apology from this delinquent. He really didn't know what to say, so he let his hands slid down the strong back - wrapping his arms around the taller boy, giving him a hug.

Yet another sweet moment passed by. The silence was soon to be broken by Lee, who spoke softly near Gaara's ear.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't."

Lee couldn't help but to chuckle at how child like gaara had just sounded, placing a kiss on the pale cheek.

"But... you shouldn't have stolen this car."

Lee sighed and pulled away slightly to look into those set of green eyes.

"It was an adventure, wasn't it?"

Gaara scowled briefly, but couldn't stay angry. He sighed annoyed with himself.

"Why can't I stay mad at you?"

"Because I have sexy eye brows."

Gaara stared as Lee wiggled his eye brows seductively, trying to fight the urge to laugh. Gaara didn't realize he had let a smile slip until he noticed Lee staring at him. Gaara wiped it off immediately and looked away blushing.

'_What am I doing? I keep going back and forth... Do I like him or do I hate him? Am I really falling for him...'_

Taken out of his thoughts by the feel of the rough bandages against his chin, Gaara quietly gasped as a kiss was placed on his neck. He wondered for a moment if they were going too fast, since they had only just met... however the feeling that Lee gave the spectacled red head drowned Gaara in his own senses. Gaara turned his head, trailing his kisses from cheek to lip. They kissed each other lightly, eventually blooming deeper as Gaara felt a warm hand roam up his shirt...

"GAARA! Stop making out this instant and get your ass inside this house this instant or so help me-!"

The two teens nearly jumped sky high from the booming voice of Gaara's older brother, who was stomping closer and closer towards the stolen vehicle.

'_Son of a ragamuffin-'_

Kankuro looked extremely pissed off at his younger brother, giving out an extra pinch of evil in his glare directed at Lee. Gaara reluctantly opened the door to get out, but was pulled back for a final kiss.

"See ya."

After Gaara had gotten out of the car, Lee had given him a wink and drove off. Ignoring his fuming brother behind him, Gaara couldn't help but feel that familiar ache in his chest. Lifting a hand up to his still beating heart, he questions himself as he stares off in the direction Lee went.

'_When will I see you again?'_

--

wow... the longest I have ever written O.O

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Another chappie! 3 THANK YOU for reviewing! I love reviews XD (rolls around happily)

I think the siblings-talk could have gone better... ah well, I hope you all enjoy it :)

--

Chapter 5

Gaara was being closely followed by an extremely pissed off Kankuro, who was radiating the aura of rage and smoke. However, the red head seem to be unaffected by his older brother's mood as he stepped into the house and spoke in his usual monotone voice.

"Is something wrong Kankuro?"

Gaara could have sworn he heard his brother's brain make a 'Snap' noise.

"What's wrong? It's the dead of night, you go missing for several hours and you start making out in front of our house with some guy... and you're asking me what's wrong!?"

Gaara blinked, glanced at the clock in the hallway, and blinked again.

"Actually, it's only 8 o'clock..."

"WHO WAS THAT WHORE!?"

Yes, Kankuro was proving himself to be the living example of - the over protective sibling.

"Hey hey hey, what's going on down there?"

Gaara saw his older sister walk out of her room and coming down the stairs with her arms crossed. Kankuro pointed towards his apathetic younger brother.

"He was making out with some guy in front of our house!"

"Really?"

The red head got scared when he caught that twinkle in his sister's eyes, which could only end up bad for him.

'_Maybe I should have taken my chances and just left the country... mmm, with Lee... What the! Okay, stop that right now brain! Now is not the time nor place...'_

"Finally! My baby brother got laid!"

"What!?" both brothers yelled out as Temari bear hugged her little brother. Gaara attempted to death-glare her, but it wasn't working at this very moment.

"No - that's not...!"

Gaara tried to speak up, but his brain decided to retaliate and bombard his mind with images of the dark haired boy.

'_Dammit, why now of all times?'_

"Aww, you're blushing!"

"I will kill you if you don't let go..."

Temari had chosen to ignore safety procedures and spoke over Gaara's murmured threats.

"You're so cute! So who was the lucky guy? Naruto? I bet it was Naruto-"

"It wasn't the blonde brat."

Kankuro intervened as Temari stopped hugging the shorter boy, who escaped from her embrace.

"Huh? Then who was it?"

"That's what I want to know."

Both of his older siblings stared at Gaara, who looked stoic and in control - despite the uneasy feeling growing inside him. Gaara hated being in the centre of attention, so he tried to walk past them so he could return to his fortress of solitude (also known as his bed room). Unfortunately, both siblings caught him by the arm and dragged him into the living room.

"Oh no you don't."

They sat him on the sofa as the blonde and brunette towered over him with their best 'this-means-business' face on.

"Talk."

Gaara resisted by folding his arms and glaring twice as hard.

"There's nothing to talk about... is father home?"

"Dad's on a three-day business trip." Kankuro sighed before continuing. "Don't try to change the subject."

"Come on Gaara..." Temari sat down next to her brother, with a concerned look on her face.

"Does he go to your school? What's his name?"

"Why do you care?"

The word came out more harsh than intended, but Gaara was feeling tired and just wanted to go to bed. He just didn't want to deal with this right now.

"Dammit Gaara, we care cause we're family!" Kankuro lowered his voice, pausing briefly as the older brother tried to keep control of his temper.

"Look, I know we were never close in the past-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Gaara..."

Gaara mentally winced at the hurt tone in his sister's voice. The red head stood up, not looking into his siblings eyes.

"We can talk about this tomorrow. I'm tired and I have school in the morning..."

Kankuro muttered 'Fine' under his breath as the youngest exited the room, heading towards his little sanctuary. When they heard the door upstair shut, both Temari and Kankuro stared at each other in silence.

"You had to go bring up the past again, didn't you?"

"Hey, I didn't mean to- aw just forget it..."

Temari sighed, cradling her head into a hand.

"Our little brother is growing up... I just don't want to see him get hurt again."

"I doubt it would get that serious..." Kankuro didn't sound too sure of his own response.

Kankuro joined his sister on the couch, sitting in silence yet again.

"Hey Temari..."

"Yeah?"

"Why did you think it was Naruto Gaara was out with?"

"I was given a tip-off... of course it turned out to be a lie... Wish it was Naruto though."

"Why?"

The blonde woman smirked.

"Cause if Naruto ever upset Gaara, I know where to go to beat the crap out of him."

Kankuro chuckled before standing up again.

"Well, I don't care that it's late. I'm starving... I'm gonna go cook us something to eat."

"Your Hello Kitty apron is in the second draw..."

"Shut up..."

--

Gaara sat on his bed, trying to sort out the emotions and thoughts that were running through his head. He felt so confused and uncertain about Lee... did he really like him? Was this all going too fast?

'_I've only known him for about two days and I'm already day dreaming about him more and more.._.'

Fingers made their way up to his forehead, tracing over his scar and making him remember more about things he would have rather forgotten.

'_...I would have thought that I had learned something from the last time...'_

Gaara knew that the past shouldn't be dragging him down and prevent him from having a life, but he couldn't help but to feel afraid of re-opening old wounds because of doing something stupid. Yet at the same time help couldn't help but to think of Lee and whether or not he would see the young delinquent again.

"I would like to see you again..."

--

Lee stared up at the stars, thinking of the red headed boy who always brought out his true smile and the happiness that Lee thought he was not capable of feeling.

"Hey, Green beast! Where ya been?"

Lee saw both Zaku and Dosu walk towards him, Zaku smirking and looking ready for a fight.

'Am I really going to be this way forever?' Lee let out a silent huff and placed the cold mask on his face.

"I haven't been any where."

"Well come ON. Orochimaru has a job for us, and he's not very keen on waiting forever you know..."

Lee didn't say anything as he walked towards them, following the spiky haired brunette as the bandaged boy walked beside Lee.

"Are you okay Lee?"

Lee was taken back by the tone of Dosu's voice. It almost sounded as if he was concerned.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem... distracted."

"I'm fine..." but the name 'Gaara' kept echoing in his mind. Even though it was only half an hour ago, he was already missing that cute green eyed boy.

"Come on you guys, stop lagging behind!"

Lee didn't say any more as he quicken his steps, knowing that he was getting ready for another fight tonight.

--

A fight? OooooooH! Lee, what are you doing?

Well find out in chapters to come (wahaha, I have a smug face XD)

please review, it makes me happy and write more :D


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry sorry sorry for the wait. School started and homework started to build up (in fact, I still got more to do. Oh sob...)

So, here's nine pages worth of words filled with LeeGaa goodness!

Thank you for sending reviews, it keeps me motivated to write more :D

Just a notice, the song that gets mentioned in this chapter is called 'Honey Honey' by ABBA, from the Mama Mia film... not that I'm obsessed with it or anything .

--

Chapter 6

It had been three days.

Three days since Gaara had last seen the tall dark haired boy, who was putting the red head through three days' worth of mental torture. One side of Gaara was going through the mantra of 'I told you so' and believing that he will never see Lee again... whilst the other side of him was still hoping for Lee to return.

Gaara could feel the rise and fall of his own frustration, growing and fading at the same time - switching from annoyance to melancholy in a matter of minutes.

'_Why am I getting so bothered by something so insignificant? ... It's not like it was serious or anything...'_

But even when this thought went by, Gaara heart wouldn't stop aching. Sitting at his desk in Iruka's maths class, he tried to concentrate on the lesson only to fail and wondered back into his thoughts of Lee.

"Now open your text books to pages 16 and do question 5 to... NARUTO! STOP BOTHERING SASUKE AND PAY ATTENTION!"

As the teacher started to fume, Gaara could see a now sulking Naruto next to a very smug Sasuke.

Ever since Naruto and Sasuke were put into pairs for Biology class, they have recently become closer in the past two days. Despite the fact that they were always fighting or arguing - there were times they could have a civilized conversation that lasted for at least five minutes. Naruto was smiling a lot more than usual, even when he was bad-mouthing the Uchiha boy.

From what Gaara had heard, the pair of them use to be childhood friends up until a family incident occurred in Sasuke's home - causing the friends to separate for many years.

Looking at them now, Gaara couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He wanted to see Lee again, even though his mind was telling him otherwise. With all the yearning going on inside his mind, Gaara just wanted to grab the biggest text book he could find and squish his head in between the pages til he was no more.

'_Stupid Lee...' _

Staring into his book, Gaara began to day dream and wonder off into his own little world...

--

_Gaaara was on a sunny, sandy beach - wearing swim shorts as music played in the background._

_He was skipping around happy with Naruto and Kiba dancing in the back ground. Uncharacteristically, the red head burst into song..._

"_Honey honey, how he thrills me, ah-hah, honey honey_

_Honey honey, nearly kills me, ah-hah, honey honey..."_

_Gaara twirled around, sparkles surrounding him..._

_  
"I'd heard about him before  
I wanted to know some more  
And now I know what they mean..."_

_Gaara sees Lee submerge out of the ocean, hair slick and wet with salty water. The droplets rolled down that tanned skin... a shiny grin broke out, winking at the green-eyed boy..._

"_-he's a love machine!  
Oh, he makes me dizzy."_

_Gaara trips but is caught by the dark-haired sex God with eye brows. Lee smiles making Gaara melt in his arm as they closed in for a kiss..._

--

"Oh no, Gaara's brain dead! The educational system has finally done him in!"

Gaara blinked as Naruto yelled dramatically.

"You bastards! He was so young and had so much to live for!"

The blondes' loud voice shattered Gaara's very odd musical daydream, to which Gaara instantly cringed at the memory.

'_Damn you Lee and ABBA... WHY of all the imaginations did I come up with that one- ARGH! Now the song's in my head! Gah! I hate everything...'_

"Shut up." Gaara murmured. He looked around surprised to see that everyone but Naruto and Sasuke had left. Naruto was right by his desk, whilst Sasuke was leaning against the door frame.

"So where were you then Gaara?" Naruto grinned, taking a seat next to his friend.

"Must have been really Rock-Lee-filled world to have taken you away from math's... you were practically drowning in your own drool."

Gaara frowned, subconsciously wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He didn't answer the question, collecting all of his books and made his way out of the class room - with Naruto and Sasuke following him. Determined to find the source of his friends' problem, the blue-eyed boy intended to bug the boy until he gave in or until he finds himself ass-kicked out of the nearest window.

"Come on Gaara what's wrong? You've been moping around lately..."

"It's nothing..."

"You should stop bugging him dobe."

Naruto stuck his tongue out over his shoulder before returning attention to Gaara.

"Come on - is it about that guy?"

Gaara stopped walking, glaring at the floor as if it were to blame for the recent lack of Lee.

"It is him isn't it?"

"I don't even know..." Gaara started and stopped him self, not really knowing what to say. But one look into those blue eyes made Gaara give in - no longer able to hold it in any more.

"I want to see him again..."

"Why don't you?"

"I can't contact him... he doesn't go to school and I don't know where he lives. I don't have a number or an e-mail - yet I let him kiss me..."

"You- You what?" Naruto yelped in surprise at this discovery, only to regret his choice of action when seeing a flash of hurt go by in those green eyes.

Frustrated at himself Gaara sighed, raising his palm to his face as a headache began to form.

"God, I'm such an idiot."

"No," Naruto stepped closer to pat his friends' shoulder "But the way you're acting, it looks as if you're in love..."

"I am not-!" Gaara raised his voice, only to sigh and mumble. "...I can't be..."

"What? Just because your Uncle screwed you up?" Gaara winced as the blonde mentally slapped himself again for another taste of foot-in-the-mouth.

"Sorry... but come on. I thought you said that you wasn't going to let the past control you."

"I'm not letting the past control me."

"Then why are you so reluctant about this?"

"Because... I don't know if I can trust him..."

"Oi." Sasuke spoke up before Naruto could respond, standing by the window.

"What?" Naruto sounded peeved at the interruption, especially since this was one of those rare moments when Gaara is actually willingly being open for once.

"This Lee guy... he has black hair and big eyebrows right?"

"Yea...?" Naruto and Gaara turned towards the window Sasuke was standing by.

"And has a green motorcycle?"

"What?" Gaara rushed over to look out the window.

As true as Sasuke's words, there was the Green Beast of Konoha right by the school entrance. Leaning up against the forest-green and white vehicle, hands in his jean pockets and hair in the usual messy plait... Gaara could have sworn that his heart had just stopped just from the sight of him.

'_I want to see him...'_

"Gaara?"

The red head didn't answer Naruto as instincts kicked in, causing Gaara to start running without a thought. He ignored the teacher yelling at him to slow down and he cut through the crowds, reaching the exit of the building. Gaara was so wrapped in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Neji trying to catch up with him.

The pale-eyed boy saw Gaara rush past and felt a pang of worry for him. When he couldn't catch up, Neji called out in a vain attempt to grasp Gaara's attention.

"Gaara! What's wrong...?"

The brunette trailed off the moment he saw who Gaara was running towards, feeling the emotion of worry to be replace by the feeling of jealousy. Neji stood still, watching the now panting Gaara glare at the dark-haired delinquent.

Gaara stopped directly in front of a very surprised looking Lee, not very sure what he should do now that he was here.

'When in doubt, glare.'

And so the red head gave out his very best glare, thinking up something to say.

The pair stared at each other, Gaara noticed more bandages and bruises cover the taller teen. The very sight made Gaara growl.

"You..."

"Gaara..." Lee's words came out low and soft, hitting a spot in Gaara's chest - the soft emotions conflicted with the built-up anger that had grown over the past few days. The whole thing made Gaara want to do something very uncharacteristic and cry out loud, letting the wall of water in his eyes fall freely. But he held back and kept his voice as stoic as possible.

"Where have you been?"

"Heh, did you miss me?" the cheerful voice made Gaara want to punch Lee.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK!"

Silence.

Lees' eyes widen as Gaara mentally cursed himself, not wanting to scream his head off like a panicked crow. Taking another deep breath, Gaara tried to steady his voice. But when the words came out, he sounded emotional and shaky.

"You go missing for three days, and when you do show up again you're covered in bruises..."

'_Why am I telling him this? He doesn't care, he can't care... but why is he here then?'_

"...and I can't stop thinking about you. I try telling myself it was nothing - cause it is nothing, but..."

"Wait." Lee cut in. "Do you really think what we have is nothing?"

"I don't know!" Gaara felt like the greatest idiot in the universe, glowing on the face of the planet.

"This sort of thing never happens to me. I know good things never last, yet when it comes to you... God! I'm just going crazy..."

Gaara stared at his shoes with his arms folded, not wanting to see the look on Lees' face.

'_Great Gaara, just great. Any chances you had with this guy - gone. Now I have to either go join a Nunnery or join the army... maybe there's an opening with the circus. I might just make it as a clown on a bicycle...'_

Gaara snapped out of his thoughts when a familiar rough hand placed itself on top of his head, fingers ruffling the messy strands of red hair. Gaara slowly raised his eyes to meet with Lees' own eyes, who was smiling warmly.

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting..."

Dry lips kissed Gaara's forehead, tenderly and sweet - making a dust of pink present on Gaaras cheeks.

"...but you look so cute when you're angry."

"I should kick your ass for that."

There were no anger behind Gaaras words, but a small smile was formed as that strange feeling entered his heart. Lee lifted his hand and let it fall to caress the soft pale cheek beneath his skin. Gaara sighed, closing his eyes at the comfort of the touch.

The moment passed timelessly before Gaara opened his eyes, focussing on the band-aid on Lees cheek.

"How did you get hurt?"

Lees eyebrows furrowed slightly, looking torn in between the choice of telling or not telling.

"Never mind..." Gaara mumbled. He didn't mind right now, he understood that there were just some things that they were not going to tell each other.

'_It's not like I'm going to tell him about my past anytime soon, so why should he tell me...'_

"I'll tell you..."

Gaara blinked in surprise at his response.

"...not right now. But I promise, I'll tell you soon..."

"...Okay." Gaara nodded, the feelings of concern being pushed to the back of his mind. He could wait for the explanation, he was just glad to at least see Lee again... even though it did make Gaara feel like an emotional little girl.

'_Stupid emotions...'_

"Hey, have you finished school?"

Gaara looked at his watch and nodded. He almost forgot that maths was his last lesson.

"Well then, would you like to take a ride with me?"

Green suspicious eyes squinted at the gorgeous motorbike.

"Is it stolen?"

"Of course not! The Renge is my youthful child!"

'_Oh no... a machine freak. It's Kankuro's new jeep all over again.'_

"The... Renge?"

"That's his name."

Lee smiled as he threw a helmet at Gaara, which was nearly dropped.

"What about you?"

"Oh don't worry, I never wear helmets."

"But...?" Gaara looked adorably confused as Lee chuckled.

"I got it for you..."

Gaara quickly put on the helmet, not wanting the tanned skin boy to see the deepened blush on his face. As Lee hopped on, Gaara then realised that he would have to hang onto Lee in order to stay on the bike...

'_Oh gods... I am not imagining pervy thoughts, I am not I am not...'_

"Gaara?"

"Yeah, I'm... coming."

Gaara got on the bike, awkwardly placing his hands on Lees sides. Lee laughed, making Gaara feel like crawling into a hole.

"You're going to have to hold on a lot tighter than that you know."

Bandaged hands got hold of Gaara's own, making the red head wrap his arms around Lees stomach.

'I'mnotimaginingpervythoughts- Oh god! He's muscular... dammit brain, we're just on a motor cycle! It's not like we're...'

Gaara couldn't even finish his thought, feeling as if he was going to pass out.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I'm fine..."

"Well then, lets go!"

Once the machine started, Gaara gripped tighter - not wanting to fall off (as well as enjoying the closeness between himself and Lee... yes Gaara was secretly in a happy place).

"Here we go."

Suddenly, the motorbike zoomed off - making Gaara have flash backs of Lee driving the car.

'_HOW THE FLAMING HECK DID I FORGET- WAAAAAH!'_

--

By the school gates, Neji glared at the spot Gaara and Lee were standing minutes ago. He saw the whole thing, from the start of the argument, to the gentle touches Rock Lee was giving to the red headed genius. Neji felt the pain build up in his chest, remembering the look in Gaaras eyes and worst of all - how good they looked together.

"It's not fair..."


	7. Chapter 7

HOLY MO! TT I'm soooo sorry for the late update. School started and I had homework to do and life was being a short-termed betch and blah blah blah... but here I am and with another chapter!

Sadly I had writers block half way through and so the reason why this chapter may suck is because... I fail at life TT

anyways, I apologise in advance for the random angst moment... yea...

--

Chapter 7

Although Lee was going as fast as a shooting star, Gaara couldn't help but feel more _comfortable_ this time round.

Was it because of the warmth? The electrical feeling currently running through his body? Or was it because he was so close to Lee's body, close enough for the delinquent to feel his thumping heart beat?...

Unfortunately, the logical part of Gaara's brain was currently having a screaming, panicking fit about how they were going to die by falling off the bike and becoming a squishy gross pile of road kill.

It was about two weeks ago since Lee came back into Gaara's life. Although the long haired boy still didn't turn up for school, he still managed to meet Gaara after school to give him a lift home. Even though his older brother still did not seem to 'approve' of Lee yet (although he seem to have a secret appreciation for Lee's motorbike, giving the vehicle a lingering look once every so often), Temari was more than encouraging. She had even had the nerve to mess around in his wardrobe to give him 'sexier' clothes for Lee to 'ravish' him in. However, despite this encouragement, Temari had given Lee plenty of death threats if he were to ever mess with "my adorable sweet but sensitive little brother" - one threat involving private area's being sent to a certain part of uncharted space whilst burying the rest of his body near a nest of red ants, covering his face with jam.

Now Gaara had seen Lee face thugs, police and just down right plain shit-scary guys and not even twitch. But when he saw the look on Lee's face after receiving his sisters warnings, Gaara would remember it as the day he wished he had a camera.

Since that day at the school, Lee had been taking Gaara out on 'dates' - which Gaara only ever agreed to if he had completely finished his homework. He had been cautious ever since the date to the mall where not only did Lee steal a very expensive jacket that Gaara was looking longing at previously (to which Gaara had yelled at Lee to return the item, which ended up being left right outside the store), but Lee had somehow accidentally picked up someone else's drink and gotten so violently drunk after a swig of the beverage to he had made a right fool of himself. He nearly got into a fight with some guy who looked as if he worked part time at wrestling and at the kicking-puppies factory. The worst part had to be when Lee, still drunk, nearly made out with Gaara near the children's ball room - he had never been so embarrassed in all his life. Still, it was all somewhat enjoyable... in fact he was starting to feel happy. Although he still had doubts that clutched on, but seeing Lee right there somehow melted half of those worries away. Even if Lee still hasn't told Gaara where he had gotten those injuries or where he goes when he's not working...

Oh well, back to the present.

"Lee!" Gaara was barely heard with the helmet muffling his voice, in addition to the noise of the traffic.

"Where are we going?!"

"To a magical place..."

The way Lee had said those words made it sound like Lee wasn't shouting at all, making Gaara feel slightly pissed off. The spectacled boy would have been tempted to cause some form of harm, if it wasn't for the fact that they would both get major owies if he were to act out such urges.

Eventually, after breaking several traffic laws and waiting for a sweet old lady to cross the road (Gaara could have sworn it was the same one as before... perhaps she was stalking Lee?), Lee rode up the small mountain before stopping nearby the cliff's edge. Still suffering from the shock of the speed Lee was going at previously, Gaara forgot to un-cling himself from the dark eyed boy's waist. Lee couldn't help but chuckle softly with a warm smile, enjoying the moment before speaking up.

"Enjoying yourself back there Gaara?"

Lee's amused voice was all it took to snap Gaara out of his trance, instantly letting go.

Looking away whilst blushing madly, the red head said nothing - desperately trying hard to hold onto any masculinity he had left in his body. The green beast of Konoha's smile grew in response to Gaara, hopping off his bike and held out his hand.

"Hey Gaara..."

Green eyes stared at the bandaged hand that was being offered, hesitantly reaching out to the rough texture - allowing himself to be lead off the bike. When Lee's fingers entwined with Gaara's own pale fingers, they walked towards a flat surfaced rock which was facing the view of the city below. As they sat down, their hands were still joined and Gaara's heart was still beating fast.

'_I know I should just let go...'_

But Gaara didn't want to let go. He didn't want to tear himself away from the precious contact he was receiving. Even though he felt stupid for feeling this way, he couldn't deny that the presence of Lee somehow filled a space within himself - a place Gaara never knew existed... maybe that was what scared him. Maybe it was the thought of that place being torn apart from his chest was what Gaara feared the most, fearing that Lee would do the same as what Yashamaru did to him...

'_**Gaara...' **_

As the voice of his uncle echoed in his mind, a chill went down Gaara's spine.

"Are you okay?"

Gaara nodded, mumbling that he was fine. Now was not the time to think about the past.

'_It's behind me. Nothing can be done about it now...'_

"Well, we made it in time..."

Before Gaara could even ask what Lee was talking about, green eyes caught the colour of the sky. A light colour of orange mixed with pink from the pollution in the air dusted the sky, as the golden orb began to set. Shadows were cast from the buildings, stretching towards the mountain that Gaara and Lee were sitting on like a growing pool of spilt ink on a table top.

With the warm ambience surrounding Gaara, from the fading sun to the sensation of holding Lee's hand everything just felt so beautiful... so...

"My God Lee, this is too cheesy. Even for you ABBA boy."

Although it was meant to be a stoic toned insult, Gaara's emotions were mixed with those gently spoken words. Lee responded by leaning in closer to Gaara , kissing that smooth moon skin neck, as an image of Lee smiling that kind smile broadcasted in Gaara's mind.

'_I wonder if Lee has ever smiled like that to anyone else...'_

"And who are you calling an ABBA boy? Hm?"

Lee's whispered breath teased the neck he was just kissing, making the tingling sensation inside Gaara grow stronger. Gaara tried keeping his voice under control, despite the growing craving in his heart for more of... just more of Lee.

"Well... it's not like I know a lot about you..."

Lee's large dark eyes came into view of Gaara vision, with an odd look of surprise displayed in his facial expression.

"Would you like to know more about me?"

Gaara blinked, then nodded with a mumbled 'yea.'

"Um... what would you like to know?"

Their was a brief second that Gaara felt slightly disappointed in the small yet still distant gap suddenly in between them as Lee pulled away, but was roughly pushed aside as Gaara told himself to stop being a sissy and be a human with a penis for a change.

"Well... I don't know..."

This was where Gaara had difficulty in communication. It was still surprising how Lee got so close to him in such a small amount of time. Especially since it took Naruto months and months to get Gaara to speak to him let alone to make friends.

Gaara may have gotten high grades in subjects like literature, maths and science - but his social skills were the equivalent of Oscar the Grouch from Sesame street. He was just not that good at trying to get to know people, considering he has never actually tried to get to know people before. People just... sort of came into his life.

"Well... how about we take turns in asking questions and we both answer..."

A blank look that could have been interpreted as 'are-you-stupid?' crossed Gaara's face. However, Lee took no notice as he continued to talk.

"Such as... my favourite colour is green. What's yours?"

"...Brown..."

"Brown? Really?"

"Yes."

"Well... okay. Now it's your turn."

"...what books do you like?"

"Uh... Lord of the Rings."

Gaara gave the dark haired boy a sceptical look.

"What?"

"Did you just see the film or have you actually read the book?"

Lee laughed nervously aloud, scratching the back of his head.

"I did see the movie and read it... about the first few pages."

Gaara raised an invisible eye brow, the tone in Lee's voice becoming defensive.

"I did see the Ring with subtitles - that count as reading doesn't it?"

"Not really... but the Ring is a good film."

Lee smiled as the pair continued with this conversation, learning more and more about each other with out realising how much time went by.

Gaara learnt that Lee enjoyed practising martial arts as well as fixing his bike (or as Lee refer to as 'his youthful child'). He was an orphan and was currently in-between foster homes, which he said didn't matter much since he rarely went home anyway. He had a part-time night job at some local movie store, hired by some old man called Sarutobi. Oh and Lee liked movies. A lot.

Gaara found that Lee knew more about the history of movies than Gaara knew about basic physics - which was indeed a lot. But Lee ADORED musicals - which was a hard image to connect to a 'Bad-ass-guy', even though Gaara couldn't put Lee down as a mean thug or even having a cruel bone in his body.

'_Sometimes there are sides of people we never truly know about... until it's too late...'_

The mocking voice in Gaara's mind was shunned to the back of his thoughts, although it did succeed in making Gaara feel wary about Lee.

'_Maybe I should take a step back and not get too close... but close enough to try and understand him'_

Lee was learning much about the spectacled boy too. He had learnt that Gaara liked reading - a lot. Most of the books Gaara had mentioned were either ones he only knew from films or just ones he never heard about. Although Gaara wasn't very descriptive, some books like 'Amirita' by Banana Yoshimoto sounded interesting to Lee. He also found out that the red head preferred instrumental music because it helped him concentrate on his homework and also helped him to meditate when feeling stressed, although Gaara mentioned liking some bands like Nightwish, Panic at the Disco and Coldplay ...as well as mentioning that he might be starting to like ABBA a little bit, which caused Lee to laugh as Gaara frowned with a slight pout.

However, when Gaara started talking about his brother and sister - Lee asked about his parents. Gaara had frozen, setting off alarm bells in Lee's head - feeling as if he stepped on a landmine. When Lee asked if he was alright, Gaara just nodded and just said his father was a business man for military weaponry. Just mentioning that they weren't close at all and left it at that. When Lee asked about Gaara's mother, the green eyed boy's voice turned cold.

"My mother died when I was born..." Gaara murmured.

"Oh... sorry."

"What for? I killed her. It's the only reason everyone hated me to begin with..."

Gaara stopped himself from saying any more. He hadn't meant to say that last part, and not with such bitterness in his voice.

"It doesn't matter." Gaara spoke emotionally, hoping that he could switch topics. However, two familiar strong arms embraced Gaara suddenly.

"Lee?"

"Don't say it like that... it does matter..."

Gaara couldn't understand why, but those simple words had a powerful meaning behind them which made Gaara's feel like there was a lump in his throat as the urge to tear up rose in him.

"Lee don't..."

"It's not your fault."

"You don't know Lee." Gaara tried to push away, finding that he was trapped in Lee's arms.

"How can a baby be responsible for a death when he's only just entered the world? How can a baby even kill when he doesn't even have the strength yet to sit up?"

Even though Lee's voice was alluring with the open possibility of comfort and security, Gaara decided to push away as far as he can to protect himself - his voice sounding more cold and distant than before.

"You don't know... you don't know what I'm capable of, what I've done..."

"Then why don't you tell me? Why are you trying to run away from this?"

He didn't know what snapped inside him or what made him snap. It could have been the pressure of mixed emotions growing stronger and stronger in confusion, or it could have been the fear of opening up to Lee. But something inside Gaara brought out such an anger, an anger that had given him strength to break away from the tight embrace and glared into concerned eyes. Although those eye-lined eyes had harden by now, somewhere inside Gaara felt guilt and sorrow for pushing Lee so harshly away. But that part of Gaara was over taken by his shield; his rage.

"I'm not trying to run away from anything. What are you trying to run away from?"

"What?"

Gaara knew he was trying to hide his issues behind someone else's, but something about Lee made him feel like being irrational. He hadn't felt this way since Naruto had interrogated him or worse, when Yashamaru...

'_NO! I won't think about him!'_

"Why don't you ever come to school?"

Lee's eyes widen as the words spilled out of Gaara's mouth beyond his control. Right now, Gaara couldn't stop even if he wanted to.

"If it was as straight forward as not being interested or not good at the work, you would have said it by now. But no, you're hiding it instead..."

"Stop it." Gaara could hear the strained anger being suppressed in Lee's voice. A cruel smirk found its way on Gaara's face.

"Why should I?"

"Because I don't want to end up hurting you..."

"Heh. You hurt me? I already said that you don't know what I'm capable of..." Gaara could feel his fists tighten into a ball.

"Gaara..."

"You never say how you had gotten those injuries from a few weeks ago, or why you skip school. Yet you tell me it's not my fault that I killed- especially when I've murdered-"

"Gaara!"

Lee's loud voice stopped his ranting, making all emotions on the red head's face dissolve. Gaara felt himself come back to his senses even though the rage was still there, somehow it suddenly became luke-warm.

'_How does he...? How does he do that?'_

Feeling his hands relax, he saw an angry looking Lee staring at him. That was when Gaara was hit with those eyes, dark eyes filled with anger but above all hurt. He felt so terrible, that he had lashed out on Lee who was only trying to help Gaara. Even though he had wanted to find a reason to escape from Lee, there was an attachment that Gaara did not want to let go. Not trusting himself, Gaara tore away from the eye-contact and stared wide eyed at the ground.

'_Well done emo-boy. Out of all the stupid and crappy things you have done in your life time, this has to be one of the worst. This is so going on the list...' _

Gaara could have sworn that the voice in his head sounded like Naruto. Gaara silently sighed, knowing what was going to happen.

'He's not going to want to deal with me... He could probably deal with someone cold and distant or someone who flustered around like a school girl, but someone like me? Who can't even let the past and his emotional issues rest? It's better off this way...'

Gaara turned to walk away, taking the first few steps forward with the belief this would be the last time of being with Lee...

That is, until he heard the quick foot steps towards him and felt those arms pull him into a hug from behind.

"What..."

"Where do you think you're going?" Lee spoke into Gaara's ear, causing that sparkle to go down Gaara's spine and his heart pacing up again.

"I'm sorry..." It was so quiet, it could have easily been missed if Lee wasn't standing so close to him. There was a moment of silence before Lee spoke up, leaning forwards so that his chin would lightly rest on Gaara's shoulder.

"What was that all about, eh?"

"I'm sorry." It was said a bit louder this time round, as his hands reached up to hold onto Lee's arms - hugging them whilst trying his best not to let his voice betray his emotions.

"It's alright..." Lee kissed Gaara's ear and then nuzzled into his neck.

"Growing up without a mother isn't easy - I should know. I grew up without either of my parents. But I'm guessing you've also gone through hell and I don't know the whole story, right?"

Gaara stayed quiet but Lee took that silence as agreement.

"Well then. I guess when you feel ready, someday you'll tell me the whole story and I can try and help you out..."

"You can't change the past." whispered Gaara.

"No, I can't. But I can try making dealing with the present a lot more pleasant - at least I like to think so." Lee said the last part with a smile, before speaking in a serious tone.

"However... I'm not going to apologise for what I said."

Gaara turned his head so he could see Lee's face. Lee's smile remained, those kind eye returning making Gaara feel light-headed.

"I meant what I said Gaara, even if it did hurt you somehow - I don't want you to believe you're a murder because of your mother's death."

"I don't. I know I couldn't control the fate of my mother... even if I did get the blame for it."

"Huh? Then what did you mean by...?"

"I don't really want to talk about it..." Gaara said softly.

"That's okay. Whenever you'll be ready, I'll be there to listen."

Gaara gave a small smile, to which Lee responded with his own toothy grin.

The red head soon initiated a kiss on Lee's lips, even though it was only a peck on the lips it had seem to make Lee more energized than ever before.

"That's the first time you've ever kissed me..."

"Um..." Gaara was not very sure what to do in this situation, considering he could see sparkles light up in the dark haired delinquent's eyes.

"YOOOOOOOOOOSH!"

That was when Gaara felt that now was the cue to return home, whilst Lee had his cartoon-dance-of-love moment. Unknowingly, the pair were being watched by someone in the woods whom were hiding behind a tree with a crooked grin on his face.

"Gaara? Hmmm..."

--

Please review to feed my soul!

(And thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapter - it really motivated me! )


	8. Chapter 8

Oh dear, I do apologize for the lack of updates - school kills my soul :(

But I have been thinking about this fic. Lee was originally in this chapter but then I had sudden inspiration for the next chapter (I do have an idea of the plot - really I do!)

Anyways, thank you everyone for reviewing, it made me even more motivated to write this fic... also I wrote this song whilst listening to the soundtrack of 'Cabaret' (heh, I am such a musical junkie XD) Well I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)

---

**Chapter 8**

"Hey Gaara... is that...?"

The red head turned to face his blonde haired friend, standing right next to him in the hall way - both waiting for Shino and Kiba to come out of their class room so that they all could have lunch together. However, previously before Naruto's unfinished question, Gaara noticed how intensely those blue eyes were staring at his neck. The spectacled boy tried to ignore it, not wanting to admit what was there on his neck. He had hoped the high necked top would help him, but alas the material failed as Naruto eventually pointed out with the question:

"...is that a hickey?"

Gaara's hand shot up, as if to attempt hiding the mark on his pale neck from existence. Looking away with an angry-flushed expression on his face, Gaara's mind recalled the events from last night - remembering all those touches being everywhere and those lips...

---

_Hands trailing everywhere. Somehow said rough hands found their way under Gaara's shirt, but the red head was distracted by the soothing tongue in his mouth - the kiss melting his brain into a sloppy pile of happy and sexually aroused goo. _

"_Gaara..." _

_The first words that were whispered in that low husky voice that sent electricity through Gaara's body - making him moan as those kisses returned . But they did not return to his lips. Instead, they traveled in a butterfly trail to his neck. Just as Lee began to kiss harder, fingers lightly squeezed the nipple hidden under Gaara's shirt - both sensations making him lost in a cloud of pleasure..._

---

"Gaara?"

Naruto tried to make contact with the dazed red head, not knowing if the boy was still amongst the living or had returned to la la land where dream-man-Lee lived.

"Gaaaaara..."

Naruto sang out, whilst Gaara thought to himself...

'_I'm going to KILL that bastard!'_

"Gaara, can you stop mind-fucking with Lee and return to the planes of reality - I haven't got anyone to talk to if you're not paying attention!"

Only catching half of what Naruto had actually said, Gaara snapped out of his thoughts and instantly responded defensively.

"I DID NOT FUCK HIM!"

Everyone within a one mile radius turned to stare in the direction of Gaara, the look of wonder, curiosity and puzzlement (and in the case of Jiraiya, perverted-ness) crossing their faces, whilst Gaara felt like burying himself into the ground - if it wasn't for the fact Azuma's history class wasn't underneath the floor he was standing on.

Gaara was hoping that Naruto would be so kind enough as to not kill his friend with embarrassment and either changed the subject or suggest continuing his conversation elsewhere.

But OH no. Not Naruto. Not Naruto the special case...

No. Instead a familiar cheeky grin grew on his face, as the eyes squinted happily and ready to tease and torture Gaara for all he's worth.

Bugger.

"Soooo... you didn't get laid. Hm? Or..."

"He's denying doing the funky-pelvis dance of the night!!"

'_HOLY FRICKIN' CHRIST MONKEYS!'_ Gaara nearly jumped a foot into the air, surprised by Kiba's sudden outburst from behind him, and blinked.

'_Christ... Monkeys? Where the hell did that come from?'_

That thought didn't linger long and Gaara set his eyes from surprised to death-kill-GLARE.

Aimed at Kiba, the boy who will die by Gaara's hand if the red head had any say in the matter...

However, karma worked it's magic for Gaara as Shino came up from behind Kiba and slapped the back of the brunette's head.

"OWWW!" Kiba held the back of his head as his eyes held small teardrops, threatening to spill over. Glaring at Shino, Kiba yelled out loudly "What the hell!?"

"That was for being an idiot and not thinking before speaking."

For the first time in his life, Gaara thanked any existing Gods out there for creating at least a few intelligent beings in the world, especially Shino in his hour of need.

"But I wasn't the one screaming that I fucked someone!"

Head-SLAP.

"OW! Fine! I wasn't the one who screamed that he was having sexual-intercourse with a fellow gentle man of modern day society..."

"Perhaps it would be better to have your head surgically removed..."

Just as Kiba was about retort, Gaara interrupted in a quieter tone laced with cold-anger.

"I did not say anything about... doing it with anyone..."

'_Oh yea Gaara, doing it... sounds real mature that does...'_

It was days like this Gaara wished he could just smother his inner voice and destroy the world like a Saturday-morning-cartoon-villain.

"Yea ya did. Plus you DO have a hickey."

Naruto pointed out, making Kiba hyper with the news.

"Eh? Hickey? Where- where? I wanna take a photo!"

"Kiba."

Shino raised his hand as Kiba took out his camera phone. After a moment of silence, Kiba sighed and pouted as he put his phone back into his pocket.

"You're no fun at all..."

Gaara just got up and walked away towards the lunch room, intending to leave everyone behind and hoping to abandon the conversation. Unfortunately for Gaara, he forgot that they could walk too as Naruto glomped him from behind.

"Awww Gaara, don't be mad. We were only joking."

"Get off Naruto before I throw you off."

Even though the threat came out without any emotion, the blonde knew that Gaara didn't hold anything against him. Smiling, Naruto let go of his shorter friend and walked beside him.

"Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm just glad you're getting along with Lee sooo well"

Gaara blushed again, keeping quiet and not making eye contact with anyone until he reached their usual lunch table. Naruto ran towards the lunch ladies serving up the food, so that he may obtain his daily dose of ramen.

Shikamaru and Choji were there doing their usual routine, one munching his way through potato chips as the other was taking a nap in his folded arms - resting on the table. Neji was next to them reading a book, before looking up to see everyone joining the lunch table. He gave a nod as a greeting and looked into Gaara's eyes momentarily before resuming to read his book.

Although Gaara did not notice the lingering stare from the long haired Hyuuga, he did notice the title of the book in Neji's hands.

"Giovanni's Room..."

The murmured voice took the white-eyed boy by surprise, looking up into the set of pale green eyes before him.

"Have you read it?"

"Yes... it's a good. By James Baldwin, right?"

"Right..."

Neji did not mean to stare, but he felt lost in those eyes for a moment. Once Gaara broke away to sit down, the long haired brunette retreated back into reading as an escape...

' "_Joey raised his head as I lowered mine and we kissed, as it were, by accident. Then, for the first time in my life, I was really aware of another person's body, of another person's smell." '_(1)

As Neji read these words, he almost felt as if the book betrayed him when he felt something inside him clenched at the idea of him and Gaara...

'_Even though...'_ Neji trailed from his thoughts as he caught onto Kiba's words.

"So, things must be going well with that bushy eye-brow guy, eh Gaara?"

"Drop it." was all that came out of Gaara's mouth as he took out the lunch in his bag.

"What? We're all guys here - and nobody at this table is homophobic or anything, so share the details already!"

As a back-head slap sound effect ended with Kiba yelling at Shino, Neji looked over his book and noticed the mark on Gaara's neck. The brunette froze, desperately hoping he was not seeing what thought he was seeing.

"Hey Neji my man, you see Gaara's hickey?" Naruto's cheerful voice sent icy spikes through the white eyed boy's heart. His thoughts took him back to that memory of Gaara with _that_ guy, remembering how happy they looked together...

'_It's not...'_

"I'd be surprised if you couldn't see it. I bet it can be seen from space!"

"Naruto. If you value your tongue enough for it to stay in your mouth and not somewhere unpleasant, then I would suggest - shutting the hell up."

"Awwww!" Kiba swung and arm over Gaara, "You did make it to third base! We're so proud of you!"

"...Remove your arm or I will..." Although his voice was quiet, it had such a deathly tone that Kiba withdrew his arm to safety, still grinning mischievously.

"And for you information, we haven't gone that far-"

"Ah! But progress has been made..."

'_It's not...'_

Whilst Gaara was playing who-to-stab-first in his head, Neji felt that he could no longer take it anymore. He stood up suddenly and excused himself. Naruto called out but was too late as Neji had already made it out of the lunch room.

"Huh? Wonder what's his problem?"

It was shortly dismissed as the pair of trouble makers continued to tease Gaara (whom was slowly losing pieces of his sanity). Shikamaru on the other hand had actually been paying attention, keeping an eye on Neji's reactions.

"How troublesome..."

Shikamaru mumbled as he stood up.

"What's up Shika?" Choji asked in mid munch.

The lazy boy just gave a smile and Choji understood immediately.

"Alright. See you later."

As the boy left the room, Naruto had a look of confusion and worry.

"Where is he going?"

"Your stupid noises drove Shikamaru away." Choji said cheerfully, finishing of his chips. Even though Naruto had appeared concerned for a moment, he put on his usual smile and went back to mind-torturing Gaara.

"Leave. Me. Alone. Before I break your necks..."

"Oh Gaara, don't you see? This is male bonding- ow! Goddammit Shino!"

---

'_It's not fair...' _

Neji was leaning against a wall in the empty corridor. His eyes were squeezed shut and his hands were clenched so tightly that his nails could have cut into his palms.

He had tried so hard to get over this... even though they did look good together - as if they belonged together - he could never believe that_ he _would be good enough for Gaara.

'_About a year ago... has it really been that long since he was last here?'_

Neji could remember a time when the 'Green Beast of Konoha' attended school. He could remember how he went from being a nice but weird guy - to a delinquent. Neji could remember the day that boy gave up trying, becoming a failure... and disappearing into that world...

"_Do you want to know where I go at night?"_

Neji felt a bubble of anger rise in his chest, hearing that cold empty voice coming from that scowling Lee. He had remember staring at the bruise on Lee's face, but never responded to the accusing question. He could remember Lee throwing the desk up as he suddenly stormed out of the class room with Anko yelling after him...

That was the last time he had seen Lee at school. Oddly enough it was exactly a week before he had gotten to know Naruto, who had introduced him to all his friends - in addition to Gaara.

He hit turn to punch the wall, feeling the pain spike down his arm but keeping his fist in place.

'He doesn't know Lee... he doesn't know what he was like before... being a year older, we were in different classes. I knew him... I saw him change.'

The sudden anger curdled in to a dark sour feeling that made his hate for Lee even stronger. The strong emotion became so bitter, he could have tasted it in his mouth. It was the taste of jealousy, which Neji would have easily denied if told so, but nevertheless it was a taste that lingered in his heart for a long moment.

'What if he changes back?... No one can change like that. Not even I could-'

"Oi."

The lazy toned voice broke the brunettes concentration and pulled Neji out of the pool of twisted emotions. His now sore arm dropped to his side as his eyes were wide open with surprise...

...Never, has anyone in his whole life caught him like this.

Neji felt the deep shame of his exposed actions and tried to brush off his previous expression with his usual cold look, keeping silent as he made his way to walk past Shikamaru. However, a warm hand caught hold of Neji's own sore hand. Just as he was about question the tanned boy's motives, he heard the mumbled words.

"Your hand..."

Shikamaru raised it to their eye level, almost as if he was a prince taking the hand of a princess... the imagery itself was enough to make Neji's eyebrow twitch.

White eyes glanced down at the red blotch soon to blossom into a purple bruise spreading across his knuckles. Their eyes meet shortly after as Neji pulls away, returning to his personal bubble.

"...You should go see the nurse."

"I'll be fine. See you later Shikamaru."

Neji continued to walk away, wanting to escape from the dark haired boy and his embarrassment.

"Neji."

Shikamaru's attempt to catch the older boy's attention failed as Neji went through the corridor and descended down the stairs. The teen sighed and scratched the back of his neck, a frown appearing on his face with slight aggravation.

"...how troublesome..."

---

1): a quote from the book 'Giovanni's Room' by James Baldwin :D... notice how my nerdity in reading and movies seeps into this fic (as if you didn't know XDDD)


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Today was just no Lee's day...

First of all, he was already dealing with a bruised eye - courtesy of an Itachi Uchiha, a member of Akatsuki a rival gang of Sound. Damn, he really hated getting into the ring with those guys, Lee really didn't know why he did it.

'_I wish I could say it was for the money...'_

Lee sighed, rubbing his shoulder with his right hand to ease the soreness. It didn't help that Orochimaru wanted him to fight another match tomorrow night. When Lee had said no, the older man told him that he needn't bother coming back.

"_I don't need worthless trash hanging around here..."_

Once those words left those pale lips, something stung in Lee's heart as a memory arose from the back of his mind, a voice of a blonde girl...

"_We don't need trash like you around here!"_

Blocking out the voice as best as he could, Lee said yes - to distract himself from both the memory and the widening smile of Orochimaru.

Walking out of the run-down building, Lee sighed as he stared up at the grey cloudy sky. He had such a great urge to see Gaara, even if it means going to school in the middle of the day.

'_But I can't go back there...'_

"Hey Lee!"

The dark-eyed boy merely glanced over his shoulder to see Dosu walking up to him. Lee's bad mood gave himself the excuse not to smile or sound glad to see the boy - he just wasn't in the mood.

"What do you want?"

"What the hell is your problem?"

"Nothing..." Lee looked away, walking out onto the pavement with the bandaged boy right beside him.

"I just wanted to ask you... Jesus Lee- slow down!"

Lee stopped completely, realizing he was already halfway down the streets from the old building.

"What?" sounding more and more irritated, Lee was very tempted to give the closest being to him a mighty punch of death.

"What do you keep coming back here?"

Lee paused before chuckling darkly...

"You got a problem Dosu?"

"No, that's not what I meant... aw fucking hell..." Dosu rubbed the back of his neck before continuing.

"Look- what I meant is... You still got a life haven't you? You don't really need to keep coming back here - you could go back to school anytime you want..."

"Why would you give a damn?" Lee's cold voice cut in.

"I don't. I just want to know why..." Dosu trailed off, his one eye giving a confused look, then speaking up again.

"...you just don't seem to belong here Lee."

Lee's eyes widened, as an icy feeling struck the entire inside of his body.

"...You're too nice. A good fighter and can win any race of that bike of yours but... Lee?"

Lee was already running away at top speed, not wanting to hear anymore.

---

He stopped at a park bench, sitting down and panting lightly - hoping for the loud heartbeat would drown the voices... today was just not his day.

He stayed there for a long time, staring at the dirt ground without a single thought passing by his mind. He wanted to keep everything blank for that moment just to give himself time to sort himself out... but a great depression was clouding in his mind making him feel like he was on the verge of tears. But he refused to cry, even on his own, a scowl taking place on his features as if to cover his true emotions with a mask. He really wanted to see Gaara today and he didn't want the red head to see him like this...

"What is he doing there?"

"I don't know... should we call the police or something?"

Lee's eyes wondered from the dirt to the two young mothers by the playground, where a few small children were playing cheerfully near the slides and climbing frame. They were giving him suspicious glances, whispering to each other in attempt to be discreet. But Lee could hear every word being spoken.

"What is this world coming to anyway?"

"He better not come near my boys..."

"Look at that angry look. It looks like he's going to come over to start a fight."

"Trash like that doesn't belong here-"

Lee's sudden movement to grip his shirt caused both women to stop talking and stare at him - accusations still in their eyes. There was a pain growing inside Lee's head - to which Lee was trying his very best to will away. He tried to tell himself that their words didn't bother him. No one's words bothered him. He wasn't a weakling, he was made of stronger stuff, he had Gaara...

"Gaara."

The single name was murmured with such broken sadness, it made Lee feel worse to hear his own voice like that. He really didn't want to fall apart right now...

"Lee?.."

The long haired boy froze. Turning slowly to see a familiar adult with the same thick eyebrows as himself.

"...G-Gai?..."

'_...and now atheists have new evidence to prove their theory...'_ (1)

Lee could remember that quote from some TV show he saw ages ago. He broke his eye contact, not wanting Gai to see the emotions in his eyes, feeling waves of embarrassment and shame for being seen like this.

"Lee, You shouldn't be here... shouldn't you be at-"

Breathing in sharply with eyes wide open, the tears began to flow. Lee stood up and sprinted, not being able to handle those words being said. He didn't want to hear the rest - not from him. Not from strangers. Not from Orochimaru...

'_Gaara... I need to see him...'_

As Lee ran out of the park, Gair tried and failed to call the teenager back. Staring at the gates Lee's exited, Gai's sad eyes closed as he whispered his unfinished sentence.

"...shouldn't you be at school?..."

---

Gaara was having a good day.

English was peaceful, followed by soothing maths equations and a quite enjoyable break at lunch with less of Naruto's stupid exclamations and the absence of Kiba and Shino (and he already had an idea what they were doing. Not that he cared...) With the addition to a tasty bacon sandwich to eat. He had just finished a history test on the Romans and just found out that Sports have been absent due to the wonderful lack of the teacher and laziness of their cover teacher for the lesson. He was suppose to be meeting Lee after school, so his plan for the meantime was to go to the library and enjoy the comforts of literature.

A small smile graced the red head's face, a happy feeling warming him up. No one was bothering him, he had friends, family with a fortunate lack of Father (who was going out of the country for two months) and a loving boyfriend, yes he finally said it; his boyfriend. Gaara blushed slightly, feeling slightly giddy thinking about Lee. He knew he was acting like the oh-so-girly-girl-school-girl in love, but for once he didn't care - mostly because he was alone in the hallway towards the library and knowing none could see him.

'_So we are accepting our self - hrm Gaara? Are we going to be waving gay pride flags and singing along to one of Naruto's ridiculous songs whilst wearing gay-pink-bunny-slash-cowboy suits? Hrmmm?'_

'_Oh be quiet brain... I'm allowed to be happy for five minutes...'_

Yes, Gaara was having a conversation with himself. He didn't care that he was being out of character, considering that in physical appearance he still looked like his usual cold emotionless self. He decided he was allowed to act like a lovesick female - providing that absolutely no one, especially Lee, was to catch him in the act.

'_Blimey, if that wasn't bad enough you've started listening to all these weird kinds of music- and what kind of all male band call themselves 'Queen'?!'_

Gaara's eyebrow twitched at this thought. Lee had pretty much changed - or should he say - expanded his taste in music. Before Gaara had preferred instrumental music with the occasional song, but now Lee gave him a little device called an Mp3 player with hundreds of songs downloaded on to it. At the beginning he was very suspicious about the origins of the gift, since when asked Lee just coughed and changed the subject. When Gaara suspected the item to be stolen he tried to give it back to Lee. Unfortunately for Gaara at the time, Lee yelled out 'No give-backies!' and ran away with a loud cartoon laughter. Gaara had accepted the gift in the end, putting aside morals for once and started to listen to the music with a thoughtful smile.

'_Blimey? Why are you saying British phrases like that? Never mind. Shut up. I'm near paradise...'_

And when Gaara says paradise, he means that he is steps away from the library door. Of course total paradise would involve Lee being there as well, but this will suffice for now...

"Hey Gaara!"

'_No no no noooo...' _

Naruto's voice echoed down the hallway, just when Gaara had his fingers on the door handle.

'_I was so close. Soooo close... I don't want to be involved in another one of Uzumaki's shenanigans ...if we end us up in detention again, Lee will have to wait. Then by logic I'll have to kill Naruto in revenge and then waste time trying to think of a place to hide the body...'_

Admittedly, Naruto had only landed Gaara in detention ONCE. That was when Naruto asked Gaara how to make glue even stronger, which lead to him to take part in one of the blonde's famous pranks, which then lead him taking part of the blame for why Kakashi had to go to the hospital with porn attached to his hand. It didn't help that he had to face an angry lecture afterwards from his father... that had to be one of the worst two hours of his life.

So Gaara had reason to want to stay good and to stay away from one of Naruto's boredom-killing plans.

"Gaara, Didn't you hear me?"

A hand rested on the red head's shoulder, as Gaara's glasses slipped down his nose. He fought the need to push Naruto to the side, running away dramatically down the hall with a war-cry. Instead, Gaara turned to face Naruto with his famous stoic mask to hide his childish panicking.

"Yes?" Gaara questioned monotonously. Naruto responded with a smile.

"Your boyfriend is waiting for yoooou."

As the last part was sung out, Gaara's mask melted away into surprise. The red head mouthed the words 'What?' before running past his friend to the nearest windows facing the school gates. Looking out he saw the teen with long braided back hair with messy bangs, the green trench coat and folded bandaged arms - his Lee.

"You might as well go see him."

Gaara nearly jumped out of his skin when Naruto spoke up behind him. The green eyed boy glared at the blonde, whom was chuckling at his friend's reaction.

"Why not? Sport's our last lesson anyways - you might as well spend some quality time together..."

Gaara gave a slight nod, turning away so that Naruto won't see the blush that had just made itself present on his face.

He didn't want to let the blonde know just how happy he felt, knowing that Lee was just a few stair cases away.

---

Lee stood by the gates, knowing that Gaara must be in the middle of a lesson right now. Still... he really needed to see Gaara right now... Why did Gaara had to be in the one place he knew he could never be in. He had a twist of discomfort in his stomach, remembering all the bad memories - a crush, a date, rejection and just people... going against him.

"I don't belong here..."

Lee squeezed his hands tighter, looking at the building with such longing. He wished Gaara had telepathy and could hear him...

'_I just need at least one person... just one person to say... I belong somewhere... Gaara...'_

"Lee?"

He froze at recognition of her voice, but did not turn to see the person beside him. For the third time today his name was being said by a person he did not want to hear.

"It...It is you isn't it Lee?"

"...Sakura..."

---

Gaara ran, his backpack secured as he practically jumped down those stairs. He knew he was breaking rules and if he was caught he would be in trouble... but he wanted to see Lee.

'Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee...'

He was inches away from doing an uncharacteristic 'YAHOO!' - but that is what Naruto would do, and Gaara decided right there and then that he was not an idiot like Naruto - ergo he shall not do something so stupid... but he is really happy to be seeing Lee again.

He made it out of the building, almost kicking the door open and bursting out towards the gate...

However, Gaara saw Lee with another girl. This sight caused him to slow down. Further observation noted that Lee was looking more and more distressed as the girl moved closer to his boyfriend. As jealousy struck for a brief moment, Gaara slowed down into a fast walk towards the tall teen.

"Lee?..."

---

"Lee... It is you!" her voice sounded happy, but the memories of the past made Lee feel panicked - as if he was being cornered by a large snake ready to eat him.

"It's... it's been so long... listen, I wanted to aplo-"

"Stay away."

Sakura stopped as Lee began to shake slightly. Although he was still facing away with the same tough-guy position as before, even the pink haired girl saw the tremors. Guilt flashed across her face, knowing why he was acting this way...

"Lee..." tears brimmed her green eyes, remembering...

'_Sakura! Please go out with me!'_

'_I've said no Lee...'_

'_Hey Sakura, I have an idea on getting rid of your little pest problem...'_

'_My God- Anything please! He's really getting on my nerves...'_

'_Heres what you do...'_

'_Okay Lee, lets go out...'_

'_We don't need trash like you hanging around here!'_

"Lee... I'm...I'm..."

"Lee?"

They both turned to the red head staring at the pair of them. He had looked out of breath with concern in his eyes directed towards Lee. Sakura knew the boy from one of her classes and was a friend of Naruto's, but she never knew that he was a friend of Lee.

'_Lee didn't have many friends then...'_

Suddenly, Lee reached out to grab the pale delicate wrist and rushed off with the spectacled red head without giving Sakura a single glance. The boy that Lee had just grabbed stared at her for a second passing by, before they disappeared down the road.

She finally let the tears fall, feeling that she deserved this. She felt that she deserved this painful feeling inside her, knowing that it didn't hurt as much as the pain in Lee's own heart.

"Sakura? What's wrong?"

Sakura saw the long haired Hinata walk up to her with worry in her face. Even though she knew that she didn't deserve to be comforted, Sakura ran into those offering arms and held on - crying harder than ever before.

---

They had slowed down eventually, after Gaara with hardly any breath to speak with said that he was about to collapse if Lee didn't stop running. They had come to a complete stop, but with Lee no longer holding onto his wrist - but onto his hand instead. Gaara didn't mind wrapping his own hand around Lee's hand, but even when he took deep breaths of oxygen Gaara stared at the back of the taller teen's head.

The green eyed boy wanted to call his name again, not to draw attention to himself, but to let Lee know that he was still here - that he wasn't alone right now. But he couldn't speak right now due to his current state, so he squeezed Lee's hand gently. Gaara wanted to comfort him with that motion, but instead he saw something that shocked him right down to the bone.

He saw Lee break into tears.

---

1) - This is a quote from a funny Tv series called 'Frasier' I use to watch it all the time XD

This chapter was brought to you by the songs 'Stole' by Kelly Rowland, because I had it on repeat for the majority of writing this chapter.

My god, the dialogue was just brilliant wasn't it...

"Lee! Lee... Leee...." XD I'm so freakin' imaginative...

(I miscalculated the LeeGaa-ness D: There will defiantly be a little more action next chapter...)

Please review :D


	10. Chapter 10

HO MAH GWAD!

I'm sorry... Just finished my Philosophy exams and am currently going through lack or motivation and depression of life D:

But this story WILL pull through... thank you for all the comments and support! It's what got me to write this chapter :D so now, it's time for some LeeGaa- ness...

---

**Chapter 10**

Gaara didn't know what to do.

He had never felt so lost in all his life. Green eyes full of concern watched Lee raised his free hand to cover his eyes, wiping away the tears only to find a fresh set of tears pouring down.

Lee didn't make a lot of noise when he cried. There were sounds of sniffing and rough-breathing but mostly silent. Gaara knew the last time he cried that hard, he was very noisy... but he was also very lonely at the time...

Gaara didn't like the idea of Lee feeling lonely.

When he tried to pull Lee to face him, the delinquent resisted. Frustration took Gaara over and let go of Lee's hand, only the dive forward to hug Lee from behind. His sweaty forehead rested on Lee's back as thin arms were wrapped around Lee's torso, so lovingly that Lee though he would cry even harder.

"Lee..."

There was a moment Lee didn't respond at all. It scared Gaara. It scared him that he was being locked out of Lee the boy... no... the love, as much as it hurts to think about the word, who made Gaara smile. The one person who gave him strength and confidence in their relationship... They haven't known each other for very long, but meeting Lee felt like a life time had gone by.

"Lee..."

This delinquent was Gaara's hero. He was his friend. He was his lover...

"Lee!"

He was Gaara's most special person... and Gaara needed him more than anything.

That's why Lee being this way scared him. Lee was suppose to be happy, not sad. Lee was suppose to be strong, enthusiastic, adventurous, stupid and loving... not crying and broken down.

'_Please don't break down Lee...please... just look at me...'_

"LEE!"

He felt Lee push away, making Gaara cling on more not wanting to let go of him.

"Gaara... I want to see you... please?"

Gaara felt both his arms pull away slowly at that beautiful voice. Lee looked over his shoulder towards Gaara before eventually facing the shorter boy. Lee's eyes were red and face was tear stained... but that smile was warm and directed to Gaara and his heart.

"Lee... I'm here for you..."

"I know... you're here for me... and you're still here even after seeing me being so weak."

Lee tried to laugh at himself, tears still in his eyes which made Gaara frown. It was now that Gaara decided to become bolder. Stretching up on his toes, Gaara cupped his hands on either side of Lee's head so that he would only be looking into Gaara's glasses and green eyes.

"I didn't stay by your side because you were strong. I didn't stay by your side because you're the 'Green Beast of Konoha.' I didn't stay because you saved me the first time we met or because of your insane driving skills that somehow defies the authorities..."

Gaara felt his eyes water but his own smile showing for Lee, and only Lee...

"I stayed for Lee... I stayed for you and your kindness. Your smiles... I stayed because you make me smile even when we're apart. I stayed because you make me feel happy and... you looked happy too when I... I stayed because..."

Gaara trailed off, feeling himself draw closer towards Lee's lips, whispering the rest of his sentence.

"...I stayed because you belong with me... and I belong...with you..."

The moment their lips touched, their kiss became passionate and so warm.

They wrapped their arms around each other, not giving a damn about the world around them. Right now as far as the pair were concern.

'_Thank you Gaara... that's... that is what I... needed to hear... thank you...'_

With that single thought going by in his mind, Lee's arms tightened around Gaara as if to communicate that thought into the tender action mixed with the emotional kissing that captured the pair into a world of their own.

Tongues invade each other's mouths, emotions flowing around them like water - resounding their love for each other. Their moans were music to the other one's ears, as Gaara lightly nipped Lee's lip which soon melted into Lee taking charge with his own swift tongue. The pink tongue running over Gaara's own lips made the shorter teen shudder with desire. They pulled away momentarily only dived into yet another long kiss, hardly pulling away at all; the feelings wrapped around their hearts and around each other... like the red ribbon of fate that connected the two was now tightly bounded and keeping the two as close as ever. Gaara could hardly breath, feeling quite light headed as sparks shot through his body... it was so magical. He knew that this had to be magic caused by Lee. No one else could ever make him feel this way...

Although it felt like they could have been stuck in an eternal kiss, they drifted apart still holding onto each other and staring into each others eyes.

'Like being connected...'

"Lee..." Gaara whispered, his eyes half lidded and his face dusted with a dark blush.

In response, Lee kissed the tip of his nose and smiled.

"Thank you Gaara..."

Gaara felt his heart over filled with emotions. He was so happy he could burst... for the first time without a doubt, he truly felt loved. Gaara gently squeezed the shoulder his hand was resting on. The red head knew that now was the time. Now he could say those words without fear, taking a chance on the consequences knowing he had no fear.

"Lee... I... I lov-"

"Goodness me, that was hot stuff!"

The two boys nearly jumped out of their skin from the sudden voice near by. As they instantly separated in wide-eyed shock, they saw an old lady sitting on a bench, watching them with a perverted grin on her face.

"You boys give Titanic a run for their money. Oh if only Margery was here to see this with me, we'd have a field day..."

Gaara became mortified to see that the elderly woman had a camera phone in her hands, not believing the scenario happening before him.

"Still I can't wait to show this to the other gals at the Bridge club... ehehehee"

'_Oooh My Good God...'_ Gaara felt torn between crying and burying himself where he stood from embarrassment.

'_The one time Lee and I have a heart-felt moment, and a horny old lady is watching us...'_

Gaara's eyes bulged at the thought of 'horny' and 'old lady' being in the same sentence and vaguely felt like dying. Turning to Lee, the red head could see that he was no better off. Lee looked utterly mortified and seemed to be contemplating either to beat up the old woman or to rob her phone and run like the fiery hell was chasing his ass. Gaara tried telepathy to calm his boyfriend, even though he did not have such a skill - it was always worth trying.

'_No Lee... don't mug the senior citizen. Even if she is the female version of Jiraiya - it would be against the law to do it and she has an umbrella... do not underestimate the power of the umbrella Lee... repel the urge...'_

Although in actuality Lee could not hear these exact thoughts of Gaara, he knew Gaara was basically telling him through that look in his eyes to not break the law and let the nice pervy lady live.

"Oh here's my bus." The old woman stood up, putting away the phone (which was, in Gaara's mind, Satan's electronic little devil) and waited for the vehicle to stop in front of her. As the teenagers watched her, still in shock, she turned around with a smile and her thumb up.

"Keep up with the sexy relationship boys, you look like a good couple... ah, to be young again..."

And with those parting words, she got on the bus which drove off into the distance. Silence clouded over the two before Lee spoke up with a nervous laugh.

"Well... that was odd."

Gaara stared at his boyfriend in astonishment.

"Lee... that is what we call an understatement..."

Silence came only to go away once again when the pair began to crack up with laughter.

But that happy feeling remained as he captured that bandaged hand within his own.

---

Gaara flopped onto his bed, taking Lee with him. The red head had lead Lee to his home, holding his hand all the way to the house - only letting go to open the door.

When entering the house, he knew that his father was away and Temari was staying over at a friends house. He saw a note on the table from Kankuro, stating that he would be out all night at a party somewhere... probably to get completely and utterly wasted.

So, the two young teens had a house all to themselves ...oh what would two healthy young men in a relationship do in a house all by their self...

"Lee..."

Gaara reached over to stroke Lee's cheek, feeling the smooth texture under his finger tips. His touch became lighter as a slim finger trailed under the bruised eye Lee had. The bandaged hand captured Gaara's hand, giving him a light squeeze whilst staring intently into the red heads green eyes.

They just stayed silent, lying on the bed gazing into each others eyes with their hands joined. It was as if they were connected physically and mentally, creating a cocoon around themselves from reality.

Gaara began thinking. Lee looked as though he wanted to say some, but seemed somewhat reluctant. Perhaps he wanted to tell Gaara about where his injuries came from or why he broke down into tears...

'_Before I met Naruto... I kept to myself. I never wanted anyone to know, because... I thought that people would only see me as weak and something to be pitied on...' _

Gaara remembered the time when Naruto would work on him every single day, trying to pry open his mind and become friends.

'_How did he do it in the end?... oh ... I remember...'_

---

Memories of sitting outside under the bus shelter with the blonde, waiting for the rain to stop. Gaara had gotten into a fight with Naruto earlier, leaving them both bruised with no one to pick either of them up. Gaara wasn't on talking terms with his siblings nor did his father give a damn what Gaara did. He didn't find out why no one came to pick up Naruto from the Principles office, until the tanned skin boy told him - still wanting to make a connection with Gaara.

"I guess Ebisu really meant it when he said it was the final straw... turns out I'm getting moved on to another home."

Gaara had stayed silent, hoping the boy would get the message that he didn't really care. But Naruto being Naruto, he grinned his pearly white teeth at the red head.

"Don't worry, I'll still be here to bother you every day!"

Gaaras growl did not discourage the boy in the slightest as he continued to speak aloud.

"I think Iruka might get to foster me this time round. I really hope so, even if the guy has a real nasty temper... there are worse people in this world..."

That was when the red head really started to pay attention. He tried not to let it show, but his eyes found themselves staring at an unusually sad Naruto - even if he was still smiling, those blue eyes spoke louder than anything.

"Hey Gaara... do you ever wonder why I keep bothering you like this?"

'_Every day.'_

Gaara kept silent and Naruto kept talking.

"You remind me of when I was a kid... I would never smile. I would never talk to people because... I truly believed that everyone was out to get me..."

Naruto's sorrowful smile grew more when he noticed that Gaara was finally paying attention.

"Before being brought to the city, I lived in a small village with my Dad. Apparently when I was born there was a superstition going around that I was some sort of devil child - heh stupid isn't it? You'd think in the 21st century people would be wiser and shit - right? Well... not them. When my Mom died, my Dad was going through some sort of break down. I was only a kid and didn't really understand what was happening. I can remember going out to get some food and then being chased back home because the people at the market thought I was coming to destroy them or something - HA!"

Naruto was no longer looking at the red head, but was staring at his own feet as his voice became strained - suppressing the urge to cry. Gaara was just so shocked at what Naruto was telling him, he didn't know what to do. He thought that he would have just told the blonde to shut up or just risk getting sick and walk out into the rain. Instead, he sat there and listened.

"I got scared to go out. It became a fear... and then I began to hate them. I hated what they would say and what they would do. I hated how people blamed me for being born when it wasn't even my choice... I even gotten to the point where I thought I hated my Dad. Not only for bringing me into this world, but for doing nothing about it. Then, oneday, I went out to water the flowers in our garden. A neighbor came by and was shouting the usual crap. I think I gave him a glare or something cause the next thing I know- WHAM! He had hit me on the side of my head with his shovel."

Suddenly, Naruto's voice seem to grow warmer as he spoke the next part of his tale, head rising upwards and staring straight ahead of him.

"It hurt like crazy, and I was bleeding pretty badly. I did get punched and kicked around from time to time, but it was the first time someone had done something like that. I was drowning more... in my head... like when you feel really down to the point where you find it -difficult to breathe. I thought no one would help me, that I was really alone... but then, my Dad was there. He beat the guy up and took me to the hospital. I think I still hated him a bit, but it was then I realized he finally got out of the house... for me..."

There was a long pause. The echos of rain drops hitting the pavement surrounding the pair.

"He... he then decided that he wasn't a good enough Dad to take care of me anymore. He gave me up within that month and said that I would be better off in the city... heh. Still no luck..."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Those were Gaara's first words to the blonde - ever. He had up to that point been successful in the art of ignoring and giving glares. He never talked to anyone yet, this boy was always constantly talking to him. The red head wanted to know why... and why did that story of Naruto's affected him so.

"Because... you look lonely. You look like the person I use to be. You stay away from people because they're the ones to cause you damage. No matter how small that group of people who are mean to you are, they seem to represent the whole of humanity for that moment. You end up thinking things like 'if this is how this lot behaves... does that mean everyone else is the same?' Even when it seems unlikely to be true... you don't want to take any risks..."

Naruto returned his gaze to Gaara, with a true genuine smile.

"But... it's not true. There are different people in this world. Some bastards and some okay people... and ones who just want to be your friend."

"You don't know me." the words mumbled out unintentionally.

"No... but I could try to know you. You don't have to tell me your life story or anything... just know that I'm a friend willing to be there for you... to talk or to go out side chasing squirrels!"

That last sentence with a cheerful tone made Gaara give out his very best 'what-the-fuck' look.

"...Just when I thought that you might have a sensible bone in that brain of yours, you just had to go prove me wrong."

"Hey! That's not nice..."

Naruto pouted at Gaara smirked, watching Naruto going quickly from sulking to that famous grin-bearing chuckle.

"Well, I still mean it Gaara... I ain't lying and I ain't looking for material to use against you. I mean, why waste time doing that when I could pull intelligent pranks on you?"

"...You mean like the whoopee cushion you placed on Azuma -sensei's chair?"

"Find me a better noise to break the silence of Geography and I will bow down to your feet in awesome worship."

Gaara rolled his eyes and went into deep thought, thinking if this was the right choice or not. Was Naruto really a 'good guy' he could trust, or was he just another deceiver of this world.

"So... we can talk?"

"About anything amigo."

Gaara felt a numbing feeling all over his body before opening his mouth to speak. He didn't understand why he felt afraid... but maybe... he could trust this strange boy...

"When you said a group of people seem to represent humanity... for me it was only one person. That person was my uncle..."

---

Gaara had told Narto his entire story, unable to stop once he had started. He had never told anyone else, not even Kankuro or Temari knew. He had felt ashamed and pained when he did tell it, but he had felt lighter after speaking so much. It felt even better knowing Naruto would never tell anyone else his story, not without his permission.

And now Gaara felt it was now a good time. Then maybe, just maybe... Lee might feel more open to talk to him... maybe.

"Lee... I'm ready..."

"I'm ready... to tell you my story..."

---

WHOO! Things get revealed in the next chapter :D and we are also a step closer to finding about Lee's past too XD

keep reviewing - it feeds the soul! :D


	11. Chapter 11

OMG! I'm sorry DX

Once again school is being my bitchmaster along side life in general. If it makes anyone happy I've instantly started writing chapter 12 so that should be on it's way soon.

Urgh, I really hate this chapter :P I had finished it a week ago but it ended up being too whiny/emotastical/violent/blah so I edited it. It's so terrible... please forgive me 8(

Also THANK YOU EVERYONE for reviewing this (Hugs you all with love) Your reviews kept me motivated. Now on to the long chapter :D

Chapter 11

"My Uncle... was the only one who wanted me. At least, that's what I had thought at the time..."

-Flash Back-

Gaara was only six years old.

He knew what hate was. It was something that was always in his father and siblings eyes. It was a word that was said directly towards him several times, and it was the reason his father would knock him around. It was the voices the resounded within his mind, constantly reminding him how much he is hated.

_  
"It's your fault!"_

_"If you wasn't born, then she would be here..."  
"I hate you"  
"I hate you."  
"I hate you..." _

"Gaara?"

Gaara looked up at his blonde uncle, smiling nervously, not wanting to do anything wrong.

"H-hello Uncle Yashamaru..."

"Is something wrong?"

"I..." Gaara didn't know how to talk properly. He was so use to his family's hatred, he never really learnt how to talk to other people. The other children in the neighbor hood stayed away from him, mainly because they were already friends with his older brother or sister. Teachers at school didn't take much notice of him either. He did talk to his bear a lot, but even so he knew that it wasn't the same as talking to a real person.

Gaara gulped, trying to speak again.

"I... okay..."

"Well that's good to hear."

Gaara blushed seeing his uncle's happy smile. He wished he knew what to say, wanting the older blonde man to like him back.

"I... like bears."

"Really? What kind?"

"...I... like all of them. The black and white ones look the nicest."

"Oh, you mean pandas?"

Gaara nodded.

"Hm, I do too. I think they look cute... like you Gaara."

Gaara's blush darken. He had never been treated so nicely before.

"Thank you uncle. But..."

"But what?"

"...Don't you hate me?... big sister said that I killed your sister. So... don't you... hate me too?..."

Gaara trailed off, speaking softly and staring at his black and blue shoes. He was afraid his Uncle would remember what he had done and lash out on him like his father did a few days ago. Something flickered past his Uncle's eyes before a sad smile over took his face.

"I don't hate you Gaara... I love you..."

The last words were whispered into the small redhead's ear, causing a weird sensation to spread through his body.

'Somebody... loves me...'

Gaara didn't say anything in response, but smiled nervously whilst staring at his feet.

"Gaara... would you like to live with me?"

Gaara could feel a great surge of happiness well up inside him. Not only did someone talked to him and said he loved him - but had actually asked him to live with him.

Perhaps from this point on, things will finally get better for him.

---

"At that time, I really wanted to be liked so desperately that I had clung to any kindness given to me..."

Gaara felt Lee squeeze his hand, seeing the look in those dark eyes for him to continue. Letting out a sigh, Gaara tried to finish his story and get through the hardest part.

---

The first few weeks were the best weeks in the red haired boy's life. Gaara adjusted well to his new environment, settling down in the small apartment. His Uncle would help him with school work and Gaara tried his very best to help with the chores in the house. He truly felt happy, even though sometimes he worried when his Uncle had that sad look in his eyes whilst staring out of the window. However, Yashamaru always smiled when he saw Gaara making Gaara wanting to smile too.

His sister had started writing to him, asking if he was okay and if he was happy with his Uncle. Gaara never replied, fearing that it was all fake concerns, but he kept all the letters in his big book of bears to keep them safe. Even though he still had some resentment towards his siblings, he was touched that his sister could be bothered to keep in contact with him.

There was only one strange thing about the apartment, and that was the fact that it only had one bedroom. His Uncle insisted that they share the bed, which Gaara had thought was odd. But Gaara didn't mind, in fact it was comforting for someone to be near by. Normally whenever Gaara had a nightmare - usually about a monstrous racoon named Shukaku who would kill people with sand. Maybe his Uncle also had nightmares and needed someone too. Gaara noticed that Yashamaru didn't have a teddy bear to hold at night when he got scared, which made the red hair wonder if adults were not allowed to have toys when they grow up. So Gaara thought that it would be okay to share his bear whenever his Uncle would have a bad dream... which seemed to be frequent.

One night that Gaara couldn't sleep, he could hear Yashamaru called for his sister in his sleep as tears escaped his closed eyes. Gaara crawled over to his Uncle and hug him with his teddy bear in his arm.

"It's okay Uncle... I'm here."

Gaara kissed his forehead in attempt to kiss the pain away, like a Mother would kiss a wound on her child to make them feel better. When he pulled back he saw a pair of dark sleepy eyes stare back at him, filled with such sorrow.

"Why Gaara..." Yashamaru murmured, "Why... why did you take her away from me..."

Gaara froze, feeling over come with guilt.

"I... I didn't mean to Uncle..."

Tears threatened to fall as his Uncle repeated the question again and again. Gaara buried himself into the half-awake Yashamaru's neck.

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."

Suddenly, Gaara felt him being pushed on his back with a great force. Everything was in a blur until he finally registered that his Uncle towered over him, crouching on all fours and staring at Gaara with a blank look.

"...Uncle...?"

They both stayed completely still. Gaara felt uncomfortable and scared, unsure about what was actually happening.

"Do... do you know what pain is Gaara?"

Gaara nodded instantly, thinking of all the heart ache other people use to give him when he had lived with his family.

Yashamaru stayed silent, but after a moment he moved closer to Gaara - placing a kiss on his forehead. This action confused the red head, but at the same time he had felt happy that his uncle responded back like that.

Because kisses were for people who you loved, and Gaara loved Yashamaru more than anything in this world. For his Uncle to give him a kiss on the forehead, it must means that he loves him too... right?

_  
'If that was the case... why does Uncle still look sad?'_

"Gaara... remember when I took you away from your old home?"

"...yes..." Gaara whispered, feeling slightly nervous swirl inside of himself.

"I took you away from your pain... right?"

Gaara responded with a nod once again.

"Then... can you help me with my pain? ...can you please help me take away my pain Gaara?"

"Of course Uncle."

Gaara had smiled, unknowingly what his Uncle had meant by help...

---

Gaara had sat up half way through telling his story, with Lee sitting right next to him.

At this moment, Gaara felt the feelings of anger, betrayal and... sadness - all over again. He wished he knew what was going through his Uncle's mind at the time. He wished he could have help his Uncle in some other way, any other way. Then maybe... maybe Gaara wouldn't have been so messed up in the first place. It was bad enough having to deal with his family and peers at school, but what his Uncle had done...

"Gaara?"

Green eyes glanced back to Lee's dark eyes, making Gaara remember that it was all in the past right now. It's in a place that can never harm him... yet all the emotions and feelings from that time seemed so fresh. Gaara really didn't know how he was able to tell Naruto all of this, even _that_ part. Right now he wanted to stop taking and escape into Lee's embrace, to do anything and everything to forget. But he knew what he had to do. He said that he would tell his story, all of it... even if he felt ashamed and stupid, he trusted Lee enough to know that the boy would not look at him any different from before.

_  
'At least I hope so...'_

"Gaara... what did he do to you?"

A sigh escaped his lips as Gaara smiled sadly. Yes, he deserved to hear it all... then maybe Lee will be able to trust Gaara enough to tell him about himself.

"He... made me touch him."

Saying those words had made Gaara feel worse, worrying that Lee would become disgusted and leave. It didn't help that Lee had an angry frown on his face.

"But... You were only a child!"

The shorter boy flinched at the loud tone in Lee's voice.

"I... I thought I was helping him. The same way he had helped me..."

"But it's not the same-"

Gaara felt Lee release his hand and wrap his arm over Gaara's shoulder, bringing the two closer together. The pale boy blushed, looking surprised at Lee's comforting actions.

"-he should never have done that to you."

It took Gaara a few seconds to realize that Lee wasn't disgusted with him, but angry at his Uncle. Relief overcame him, snuggling into the delinquent's one armed embrace.

"I know. I know that now... I knew it when it was too late. But at that time, I thought it was normal..."

"Did... did he rape you?"

The green eyed boy shook his head.

"No. He never did that to me. Perhaps because he knew it would have hurt me too much and would have gone against him 'taking away my pain' speech. He just... made me touch him... to make him feel better. I didn't mind because I though I was helping him."

"That's no excuse-"

"I know Lee. He should never have done that. He should never have messed with me like that, even when he was already messed up himself. But... I loved him..."

Gaara felt his voice strained a bit at the 'love' part.

"I... loved him so much Lee, and he had said he loved me. I was so desperate to keep hold of that love that I was willing to do anything."

Gaara closed his eyes, unable to look at Lee anymore with the fear of bursting .

"But... even though he said he loved me, I soon found out that it was all a lie. As time went by, he became more violent and angry. I would wonder if I did something wrong..."

A stoic tone began to settle in Gaara's voice, slowly closing off any emotions that might have caught Lee's attention. How ever this was instantly noticed by the young tanned boy as he watched Gaara continue to speak coldly and lifelessly about his past.

"...One day... I'm not sure why, but he just told me the truth. We were setting up the table for dinner, when he suddenly looked at me and just say ...I hate you..."

Gaara opened his eyes slowly and unfocused, his face void of any expression as he stared at nothing at all.

"It's funny. It's so easy to say 'I hate you' than 'I...I love you' ...It's also more believable..."

"Gaara..." Lee felt lost for words, even though he had just whispered out his boyfriend's name. He did not like the way Gaara was acting, shutting himself away from his emotions and worst of all - he seemed to be shutting himself away from Lee even though Gaara was within his arm's reach.

'_I wonder... was this how Gaara had felt earlier?'_ The though caused the long haired boy's chest to feel a pang of guilt, remembering Gaara's sorrowful voice earlier when Lee had not wanted Gaara to see him cry.

"I. I do not really remember what exactly happened... I just. I can still see him and..."

'_That blood... there was blood everywhere... from him.'_

Even though his face was completely still and calm, his body began to tremble from the memory of his Uncle...

His Uncle had tried to kill him. He could remember them both crying, but he could also remember his Uncle's hands around him neck. Gaara subconsciously stopped breathing himself for a moment as the memory flashed by.

'_That's right. I couldn't breath... I reached out...'_

"He was strangling me." taking in a breath to continue, Gaara managed to keep his voice under control. It was never this hard to tell Naruto, then again he didn't care about what the blonde thought of him at the time... but he cared very much about what Lee thought of him. He almost was tempted to start running before he finished the rest of his story.

'_I have to finish what I've started. There's no turning back now... I want him to know the truth. I want him to know who I am.'_

"I panicked and reached out for anything... I... picked up the knife. I stabbed him. I killed him. It was everywhere..."

Gaara couldn't remember much from that night, not that he'd ever want to remember everything. He paused before standing up and walking towards the mirror, keeping his back turned of Lee.

"I killed him. I murdered him... heh. I can remember the first night I came back home, my Father had said that I was just a heartless murderer."

Gaara could see his bitter grin in the mirror's translucent reflection, also seeing Lee stare at him from a distance.

"My brother and sister had said the same thing... though at the time they did not know the whole story. Just that I had killed our Uncle. They feared me... everyone seemed to fear me..."

Gaara folded his arms and stared at the tall tree out side his house, watching the green leaves move as the gust of wind blew by.

"I felt even more alone. But at that point I was so heart broken from my Uncle's hurt and lies, I just didn't care. I stopped wanting to be in contact with people. Instead I became angry and hateful. I had wanted to hurt people, to drown the me that was hurt. Hatred became everything yet... love was the hardest thing to believe in..."

Gaara turned his head slightly, looking at Lee from the corner of his eye.

"That day... when I had yelled at you. When I had said you didn't know what I was capable of..."

Green eyes looked away from Lee and stared through the window, not looking at anything in particular.

"After that incident with my Uncle, I had stopped trusting people. I grew up with hatred and I thought I would die being hated. I had stopped caring, about them and what they thought of me. Back then I would get into fights over stupid things... once I had punched a girl in the face just because she gave me a dirty look. I was moved from school to school until we arrived here."

Gaara paused feeling Lee wrap his arms around his waist, resting his head on the shorter boy's shoulder. A small smile crept across the pale face, breaking his stoic mask from the comforting hug. However, his voice continued to sound robotic without any emotions at all. Despite the comfort Lee was giving him, doubt began to eat away at the back of Gaara's mind.

"I met this boy in my class called Naruto. Like everybody else, I hated him - probably even more than others. He would constantly talk to me, trying to get to know me and befriend me. But like I said, I couldn't trust anyone... we would always fight. But no matter what I did he was always so determined. It wasn't until one day after one big fight we actually talked."

Gaara turned to face Lee, eyes meeting with determination. Gaara was no longer afraid of Lee's reaction. Just nervous, although those warm bandaged hands stayed in contact with him. Perhaps there was hope after all.

"He told me that he wanted to be my friend, because I reminded him of himself from his child hood. The way I looked so lonely with hate in my eyes. He told me his past and... I told him mine."

Gaara gripped onto Lee's arms, never wanting to let go of him.

"Apart from you and Naruto, I have never told anyone of what had happened with my Uncle. Not even the police or my siblings... although I do get along with my brother and sister now. I guess that's thanks to Naruto..."

"Naruto is a good friend then?"

"Yes. I guess I wouldn't be the person I am now if it wasn't for him. I... I have a lot to thank him for... He saved me from myself."

"We are our own worst enemy sometimes." Lee murmured, his hand trailing up Gaara's arm to the nape of his neck. His thumb stroked the soft skin of Gaara's neck, as Lee tilted his head smiling warmly.

"So... Naruto is an important person then?"

"He is. He's my very first friend, even if he is a total idiot 24/7 he does have his moments. But..."

"But?" Lee echoed.

"...He doesn't make me feel the way you do."

Lee smiled seeing that familiar small blush across his face. He leaned forwards to give Gaara a kiss right where the scar of 'love' was.

"Thank you for telling me... I don't know what to say..."

"Does knowing what I have told you changed your perception of me?"

Lee blinked with a blank look.

"Per..ception?"

Gaara felt like face-slamming himself into the wall with embarrassment.

'Dammit brain - perception? Technical words from

"I meant to say- how you see me... aside from a nerd of course."

"You're still Gaara... yup, you're still the lovable cutie fell for."

Lee's words struck Gaara like an arrow to the heart, making him feel like crying - feeling that this was all too good to be true. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes as the twisting emotions of happiness and sadness soar through his chest. Lee noticed the sudden change in Gaara, dropping his smile to a look of concern.

"Gaara, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing... just... I'm happy, even if I don't deserve it..."

"That's silly." Lee frowned but held Gaara closer, cradling the boy in his arms with one hand on top of the messy strands of red hairs. "What makes you say that? Your past? What your family put you through? ...It doesn't matter who or what you are. You have a right to be happy just as anyone else... beside, if you say that then doesn't that mean someone like me isn't worth a moment of happiness?"

"You're different. I'm..."

"A goody-two shoes student with a temper and a cute ass. I know it's such a tragedy, much worse than someone like me on the streets causing all sorts of mischief. Seriously reading Shakespeare and doing maths should be outlawed."

"Lee!"

"Honestly, does no one think of the children any more?"

"I'm not a goody two shoes..."

"Hush now, I'm trying to spoil you with manly love."

"Brilliant." Gaara mumbled into Lee's chest, but couldn't help but laugh a little at the taller boy's comment. Gaara was glad knowing that Lee knew about him. The red head was willing to wait for Lee to tell Gaara about himself, the reasons why he never goes to school and who keeps hurting him. He tightened his hold on Lee, accepting that until that time comes he'll just be there for him...

"Oh- it's dark out there."

Gaara turned his head to see the night sky, giving out a grunt.

"Maybe I should go..." Lee realized he should probably go train and get ready for the match tomorrow night. Besides, he had left his bike outside Orochimaru's building. He might as well prepare himself whilst he was there.

"Stay."

It was small and easy to miss, but that voice reached Lee's ears and surprised him.

Thoughts went through the delinquent's mind. Should he stay? Should he go?

In the end Lee just found that he couldn't or rather wouldn't leave Gaara , as he found himself lying next to the boy on the small bed - feeling completely content and at peace for the first time in a long time.

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Hope you liked it... review please?


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